WATCH: Gabriel, Grayson Murphy on UCLA's Coaches, Fit on Defense
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UCLA football outside linebackers Gabriel and Grayson Murphy spoke to reporters following Saturday morning’s fall camp session. The twin transfers from North Texas talked about practicing in the heat, the differences between them on and off the field, where they fit into the multiple defense and their relationship with outside linebackers coach Ikaika Malloe.
How's camp going for you guys?
Grayson: Uh, it's been going real good. You know, nice to get out here. It's hot, but it's nothing like that Texas heat with that humidity. It's probably like 105, 106 over there right now. But it's nice to get back out here on the grass – or turf, rather – and compete. We've got some good offense this year, good defense, so it's just battling every day.
You hearing any teammates complain about the heat, giving them crap?
Gabriel: Sometimes there's been a lot of complaining about the heat, but we come from Texas and this is nothing. It's three weeks straight of 100 degrees out there, so coming out here and getting a little breeze during practice feels a lot better than back in Texas, so yeah. You hear a lot of complaints, at the end of the day, where we come from, it's a lot different.
Practicing in the heat preparing you for day games at the Rose Bowl? Play many of those at North Texas?
Grayson: Oh yeah, absolutely. At North Texas, we played a lot of 12:30 to 12 noon kickoff and everything like that. So 11, that's really nothing in the time zone from Texas to here. So we're two hours ahead in Texas so it's really like we're playing at 1 our time. So I don't think that will mess us up at all, to be honest with you.
Being as disruptive as you were in spring camp?
Gabriel: Absolutely. That's what we pride ourselves on, is being disruptive and dominating. So making the transition from Group of Five to Power Five, we always have a chip on our shoulder to prove to people that we can do it at this level too. So that's kinda why we made the transition and that's what powered us in the spring. And then coming over to fall, really capture it in the fall, we wanna show the coaches that we're capable of doing it and we wanna show them that in the fall, so we feel like we'll be disruptive.
How are offensive tackles looking? Who's standing out?
Grayson: I think the offensive tackles have been doing a great job. You know, they're coming out here competing. They might get me once, I might get them once, you won't see it from afar and so, like I said, we're always competing with each other. And you say guys that are doing a good job and I say all of them. I'm going against whoever jumps up to it and they're going against me fighting, battling, I don't think we have an issue there at all.
Raiqwon O'Neal so far?
Gabriel: Raiqwon's coming in and competing. We've seen a little bit of what he's got and I think it's gonna translate good for us on Saturdays, so yeah. He's doing a good job. Like he was saying, we've got a lot of guys coming in and competing. So whenever we're able to compete against them, they're gonna compete against us. They're getting us better and we're always getting them better, so we feel comfortable with the tackles.
Difference in your games?
Gabriel: Ok, so the differences in our games, I would say there's not too many. We do a lot of similar things because, like I said, our whole life, we've been working out, we've been training together. So if he's working on one thing, Imma be working on that. If I'm working on one thing, he's gonna be working on it. I wouldn't say there's too many differences in our games, but we can definitely point out the similarities.
Line up at a lot of positions in the spring, what's your role in this defense?
Grayson: Very, very multiple. They're moving us across the whole defensive line, whether it be nose, 3, 5, 9, 7. So we'll get, you know, a little bit of everything, the best of both worlds, rather, if you will. We're just excited. You know, that's one of the reasons we came to UCLA is cause the versatility that they offered to us. And we're just ready to kinda have that ball snapped on Saturdays and get ready for the fans to kinda enjoy that.
An expansion on what you were doing at North Texas?
Gabriel: From whereas like a defensive scheme?
Did you play all these positions at North Texas?
Gabriel: So at North Texas, we was playing 3, we played nose, so we played all throughout the whole defensive line. It's just wherever we look on tape and see a weakness in the offensive line – this is what we did at North Texas, I don't know. But we looked to see on tape the weaknesses in the offensive line, so the goal was a little bit different there (???) and vice versa, so depending on what the game plan was.
Play any twin pranks?
Grayson: Nah, haven't got to that yet. You're putting ideas in my head, I might have to do a switcheroo on one of these coaches.
Coaches mixing you up when you don't have your jersey numbers on?
Grayson: They just call us "Murphy Twin."
Gabriel: Coach Malloe's actually gotten pretty good with it when we're sitting in meetings and stuff. He's kinda got out structure, he says his structure's a little bigger than mine, and mine's a little skinnier, if you can tell that. He has a little scar behind his eye that a lot of people tell us by, so that's some of the things. Coach Malloe's kinda got it down, coach Norton's kinda got it down too.
Slightly different shade in the hair too?
Grayson: I went a little lighter. That's good you picked up on that cause a lot of people aren't. I went a little lighter, he kinda went a little darker. We didn't do it on purpose, it just happened that way, but that's a good pickup.
Working with coach Malloe after he recruited you and worked with you in the spring?
Grayson: It's just flourishing still. It's just the spring, recruiting us, coming on a home visit, we're in the portal and translating it onto the field when we get to spring ball, it's just flourishing. And coming into spring now, we kinda go what he likes, what he doesn't like. We can talk to him, his office is always open to us – that's for any player, it's not just ourselves. He's just that type of coach and I have all the respect in the world for him, love him.
Gabriel: Yeah, coach Malloe, he's all about relationships and we've got a great relationship with him. Like he was saying, ever since he came to our house and met our family, everything translated over to the field. So we're very excited about our relationship and what he's got for the outside linebackers group.
What does Bill McGovern want out of you guys?
Gabriel: He just wants us to play fast and wants us to play physical. THat's the two key things he wants us to do, and everything else is gonna play for itself. So we play fast, we play physical, everything else should take care of itself.
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