LOS ANGELES -- Deshaun Foster continues to build his coaching staff ahead of the 2025 season after naming Jethro Franklin as the Bruins' defensive line coach.
With a total of 33 years coaching on the defensive line, Franklin has had a proven resume at both the collegiate and professional level coaching names like Kenyon Coleman, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, Khalil Mack, Mario Williams, and former first-round pick Muhammad Wilkerson.
“Coach Franklin not only knows what it takes to reach the next level, but perform there,” said Foster. “He has more than 30 years of defensive-line knowledge and an enthusiasm for his craft that I know our players will embrace.”
Franklin's NFL coaching history includes the Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Texans, Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks while his resume for College Football includes, Fresno State, UCLA, USC, Temple, Miami and Missouri.
His longest coaching stint came from 1991-1997 when he was coaching at Fresno State. Franklin also just spent the last three seasons coaching the defensive line for the Bulldogs.
During his first stint with the Bulldogs, he helped the Bulldogs reach three bowl games and played a role in their record-breaking season when they recorded 67 tackles for loss, the most in school history.
Last season, Fresno State was ranked nationally as a top-50 defense for third-down conversion percentage (.353), passes intercepted (15), red zone defense (.808), rushing defense (139.4 yards per game), team passing efficiency defense (113.51) and turnovers gained (20).
Devo Bridges was a notable standout on Fresno State's defense last season when he earned All-Mountain West Second Team honors for the second year in a row. In 2023, he set a career-high for tackles (50) tackles for loss (8), 3.5 sacks, and seven quarterback hurries.
When Franklin coached at UCLA in 1998, Foster was just a young and promising sophomore running back. During that time he helped both Coleman and Ken Kocher earn All-Pac 10 honors. Coleman finished the season with 3.5 sacks and 50 total tackles while Kocher had one sack with 43 tackles.
Franklin has had two stints coaching at USC. The first was in 2005 when they lost to Texas in the National Championship. His second season with the Trojans came in 2009 when they won the Emerald Bowl against Boston College.
During those stints, he coached Sedrick Ellis, Lawrence Jackson, and Nick Perry who would eventually become future first-round picks in the NFL Draft.
His first NFL stint came from 2000-2004 when he was with the Packers. During that time, he helped elevate former fifth-round pick of the 2000 NFL draft Gbaja-Biamila into a Pro Bowl selection in 2003 when he had a 10-sack season for the first time in his career.
Prior to coaching, Franklin also played college football at Fresno State and had a brief NFL career playing for the Seahawks and on the Houston Oilers practice squad.