Nov 30, 2024; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins offensive linemen Garrett DiGiorgio (72) and Josh Carlin (54) during the second quarter against the Fresno State Bulldogs at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Andy Kwon's Leadership Receiving Praise from UCLA Camp

Originally posted on UCLA Bruins on SI | By Connor Moreno | Last updated Aug 18, 2025 10:00 AM ET

UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster emphasized building a strong coaching staff as last season commenced. One of his additions, offensive line coach Andy Kwon, has been lauded all throughout fall camp for his leadership.

Transfer offensive lineman Julian Armella was the most recent player out of camp to praise Kwon for his leadership style during Saturday's media availability.

"Coach Kwon does a great job at being able to be, not necessarily hard on us players, but want to motivate them to the point where you have to have an intrinsic- something inside that's like, 'You know what? I'm tired of messing up on my X, Y and Z-block, I need to go and get a fix. Whether I go and stay after practice, or whether I go and meet with him after.' So, just him being able to stay on top of you no matter [if] you're doing good, bad, ones, twos or threes.

"Like, the guys we have like Garrison Blank, as well as Nehemia Johnson, he's on those guys, but it's because of the sees out of them. He sees and holds them to such a high standard that he wants them to be great. He could sit there every single day with the freshmen and be like, 'Alright, guys. This is good. Next rep.' But no, at the end of the day, he's sitting here and truly going all in for his players."

Kwon was hired at Westwood on Dec. 19, 2024, after leading the offensive line at Arkansas State for three seasons. Ahead of the 2025 season, he's in charge of a revamped offensive line, staunch with impact transfers and tenured returners.

Projected Starting Offensive Line

One of the hottest topics out of fall camp has been the turnover and projected starting five in the offensive trenches. Between key transfers and impact returners, though, Foster says a starting five is already set.

"I think I have a pretty good assessment on who's going to be the starting five," Foster said during Wednesday's media availability. "[Now] we're just getting to the top-12, top-11 guys, so it's getting to that point."

If the starting five is the same as the group that's been taking the most reps together during camp, UCLA's front five will likely be Courtland Ford (LT), Eugene Brooks (LG), Oluwafunto Akinshilo (C), Armella (RG) and Garrett Digiorgio (RT).

Make sure to bookmark UCLA Bruins On SI to get all your daily UCLA Bruins news, analysis and more!

Read more on UCLA football and their momentous second season in the Big Ten and under DeShaun Foster here. While you're here, check out all things UCLA basketball and Mick Cronin improving the Bruins through the transfer portal here.