UCLA Football Staff Makes a Critical Hire from SEC

Sugarman spent last season with LSU as a Player Personnel Assistant, and before that, spent three and a half years with Arizona State, according to his LinkedIn. Along the way, he interned with several NFL organizations, including a stint as a scout for the Kansas City Chiefs during the NFL Combine.

It’s a big deal for Sugarman, who has paid his dues and is now reaping the benefits of his hard work. But it’s also a major hire for Foster and UCLA.

In the 16 months Foster has been at the Westwood helm, he’s focused on building relationships and — for lack of a better word — fostering them into high-level performance on the field.

Though Sugarman’s SEC tenure was brief, his reputation carries weight around college football. Foster clearly recognized the value in bringing him on as Director of Scouting, a move that could be massive for the program’s future.

Players notice things like that. The SEC is widely considered the premier conference in college football. For UCLA to hire away someone with SEC and NFL pedigree for a pivotal recruiting position sends a clear message: the Bruins are serious about building a winning culture.

Continuing with the theme of relationship-building, Sugarman’s background in Player Personnel is especially valuable. It can pay dividends not just with high school recruits, but also with experienced talent looking to enter the transfer portal — a growing and critical aspect of modern roster building.

Recruiting under Foster has already started to turn heads. It was expected that the 2026 class would be Foster’s breakthrough, and while he’s lost a few key battles, the progress is undeniable. According to On3, UCLA currently ranks 17th in the nation — a huge leap from their 48th-place finish in 2025.

And while the 2025 high school class may not have been up to par, UCLA made arguably the biggest move of the entire offseason by landing former five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava from Tennessee.

Expectations for 2025 aren’t sky-high, but a bowl game is a realistic benchmark — and from there, momentum can snowball.

Adding Sugarman fits right into that vision. He’s another brick in the foundation that Foster is laying in Westwood — a foundation that just might turn UCLA into a championship contender before long.