UCLA first-year head coach DeShaun Foster has a sense of humor.

A week after stumbling through his Big Ten Media Days debut in Indianapolis, taking a few awkward pauses before stating the obvious fact that UCLA is located in Los Angeles, Foster strolled to his press conference prior to the Bruins' first practice of fall camp Wednesday morning in a fresh T-shirt.

"We're in L.A.," the black Nike T-shirt read in big, white lettering, with a UCLA football helmet serving as the pinpoint on the blue outline of the state of California.

"Oh, this thing?" Foster said when asked about the choice of apparel that he added was his idea. "It was just a shirt. I just wanted to make sure everyone knew where L.A. was at and where UCLA is.”

During side sessions with smaller groups of reporters at Big Ten Media Days, Foster said he has the personality to handle the jokes that circulated on social media not long after the moment.

"I'm gonna embrace it," Foster said. "It was funny to me, it wasn't -- all the interviews after that, I killed it. So, you know, you guys know me. So it wasn't that big of a deal."

The shirt caught the attention of senior linebacker Kain Medrano as the team went through stretches to open practice.

Afterward, Medrano said he understood the reference and now wants one of his own.

"Yeah, I got the joke," Medrano said. "I saw him when he walked out the door with it and I just kind of got a chuckle. ... It's a good shirt. After practice, I think we all kind of shouted, 'Oh, we all want one.' So, hopefully, we got one coming our way."

Later in the day, Foster then took to his social media account to share a photo of himself taken during practice and captioned it: "Just incase you didn't know .."

Now, Foster is going viral for a much more lighthearted reason, with several outlets already aggregating his ownership of the earlier gaffe.

Among the players who did not participate in the first practice was Michigan State transfer running back Jalen Berger, who arrived as a late addition to the roster nine days ago.

Berger, who has 1,165 career yards rushing and 10 touchdowns in 24 games over the past four seasons, is looking to return to form after a season-ending leg injury cut short his 2023 season. He was limited to strength and conditioning work in the weight room with the rest of the nonactive players.

Foster said Berger's status was a precautionary move.

"Berger is limited just because he just got here," Foster said. "It's more just getting acclimated and seeing how his conditioning is. He got a couple (summer) workouts with us, but I can't just throw him out there."

Others spotted in the weight room included: running back Deshun Murrell (ACL rehabilitation), walk-on offensive lineman Michael Sultemeier, Iowa State transfer offensive lineman Oluwafunto Akinshilo, Notre Dame transfer offensive lineman Michael Carmody, offensive lineman Marquise Thorpe-Taylor, tight end Sam Summa, wide receiver Grant Gray (who played baseball in the spring) and defensive linemen Sitiveni Havili Kaufusi and Gary Smith III.

That's in addition to tight end Hudson Habermehl, linebacker Donavyn Pellot and running back Troy Leigber, who all suffered season-ending ACL injuries in spring camp.

Among the newcomers who are hard to miss, the size of offensive line transfers Reuben Unije (Houston/Louisville) and Alani Makihele (UNLV) immediately stood out to Bruins center Josh Carlin.

Unije, the likely starting left tackle, is listed at 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds, and Makihele, the new right guard, is listed at 6-foot-3 and 350 pounds.

"Alani's a big kid, so we can definitely use that in the run game," Carlin said. "Reuben, he's really athletic. He's going to be great at left tackle. So, I'm just excited for them both."

Carlin noted the significant size difference in the trenches that the move to the Big Ten presents and said he's currently around the 325- to 330-pound mark.

"Obviously, going to the Big Ten, the weight doesn't hurt, you know what I'm saying?" Carlin added.

Watch the full interviews with Foster, Carlin and Medrano below: