Tino Sunseri would do whatever was needed in the equipment room. Folding towels, putting away laundry — the nature of the task didn’t matter so long as it allowed the teenager to be near his father, Sal, the defensive line coach for the Carolina Panthers.
One of the perks of hanging around an NFL locker room was meeting the players. Among those who took an immediate liking to the boy was DeShaun Foster, the new running back out of UCLA.
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“He would come up to you as a young kid that looked up to all these NFL players, that was having all the success, and would take the time to be able to talk to you, spend time with you and was really, really genuine,” Sunseri said Saturday, more than two decades after first crossing paths with Foster during the 2002 season. “So when it came to him and our relationship, he was somebody that I knew whenever I walked in the building I felt like I had a friendship with.”
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They did not remain in contact after Foster left the Panthers before the 2008 season, Sunseri going on to play quarterback at the University of Pittsburgh while Foster finished his career with the San Francisco 49ers and began his ascent up the coaching ranks.
The next time the men saw one another was last fall, when they hugged after Sunseri’s Indiana Hoosiers defeated Foster’s Bruins at the Rose Bowl. But the embrace felt like two old friends reconnecting.
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Foster was impressed enough with Sunseri’s work helping Indiana reach the College Football Playoff that he asked the Hoosiers’ co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach to take on a similar role with the Bruins, becoming their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. After assessing that opportunity in addition to a handful of other job offers, Sunseri decided to share a locker room with his pal once more.
Quarterback coordinator Tino Sunseri stands on the sideline during a game between Indiana and Purdue on Nov. 30, 2024. (Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
What drew him to UCLA was Foster’s emphasis on his players.
“Helping them grow, helping them learn, helping them evolve, making sure that they’re gonna be able to understand that life after football was more important than football itself,” Sunseri said, repeating Foster’s beliefs, “because what you’re going to be doing for 40 years is different than four [while in school], but being able to make sure that we’re gonna be able to give them the best chance and opportunity to fulfill their dreams.”
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While this will be Sunseri’s first time running an offense, he said he was heavily involved in every pass play call last season as part of a collaborative approach with Indiana offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan (no relation to the former NFL coach).
What will the Bruins’ offense look like in 2025? Sunseri said it would resemble the philosophy of former boss Curt Cignetti, who relies on high efficiency from his quarterback as well as pre- and post-snap motion to generate open receivers. Indiana’s offense produced an average of 41.3 points and 426.4 yards per game last season, far exceeding the 18.4 points and 328.8 yards that UCLA manufactured under Eric Bieniemy.
“We’re gonna put the defense in a lot of turmoil,” Sunseri said, “of how to be able to understand shifting, motioning, being able to make sure that they have to guard every blade of grass horizontally as they do vertically.”
UCLA’s offense was heavy on short passes Saturday during the first practice of the spring open to the public. Presumed starting quarterback Joey Aguilar and his backups repeatedly targeted the tight ends, with Jack Pedersen and Dylan Sims among the leading pass catchers.
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Citing a principle that helped Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke to complete 69.4% of his passes last season for 3,042 yards and 29 touchdowns with only five interceptions, Sunseri said the quarterbacks’ approach reflected the defense’s soft coverage. One of the few times Aguilar challenged the defense by firing a deep pass into coverage, it was intercepted by defensive back Ben Perry.
“The biggest thing that these quarterbacks have to be able to learn in college football,” Sunseri said, “is that you need to be needy, not greedy. A lot of these defenses make a lot of plays because the quarterback just makes a bad decision.”
Sunseri, 36, literally matched his quarterbacks step for step during one rollout drill in which the coach simulated a defender in pursuit while demonstrating the proper mechanics on their throws.
Read more: Did UCLA’s DeShaun Foster reload roster? Five questions going into spring practice
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“He’s Sicilian and he’s fiery,” Foster said of the coach who’s easy to spot because of his striking pompadour. “He’s just a guy that expects a lot out of his players.”
Relishing his Italian heritage — “Sicilians, we’re at the bottom of the boot, if you don’t know,” he said — Sunseri told the story of how working as a bus boy at the family restaurant, Bella Notte, gave him the motivation to make something more out of himself. Now he’s got a two-year contract that will pay him at least $1.3 million this season in salary and bonuses.
All because an old friend wanted to help him forge a new beginning.
“It’s awesome,” Sunseri said of reconnecting with Foster. “I can’t thank him enough for the opportunity.”
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Read more: UCLA offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri’s annual compensation will top $1 million
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
