WATCH: Cam Johnson, Martell Irby Discuss Atmosphere, Lessons From LSU Win
The Bruin defense knocked the Tigers around early and often Saturday night, and two of the players responsible for that physicality spoke to reporters Wednesday.
No. 16 UCLA football (2-0) cornerback Cam Johnson and striker Martell Irby were the two players selected to meet with the media following Wednesday's practice. Johnson detailed his decision to transfer from North Texas to UCLA, while Irby went through how he wound up transitioning from running back to defensive back in the offseason, and both talked about the packed Rose Bowl and "sissy blue shirt" fiasco from the LSU game.
CAM JOHNSON
Journey to UCLA, what attracted you here?
Definitely. So basically, what attracted me to UCLA after hopping in the transfer portal, it was the No. 1 public school, my mom really values education, my dad was a football guy, so I felt like I'd get the best balance being at a school like this.
Experience so far?
Definitely, I heard that we had a lot of depth and a lot of older guys, a lot of maturity on this team, going into UCLA. It was everything I expected, just a lot of hard-working guys getting the job done, and that's really the reason why I hopped into the transfer portal, to get that culture.
Aggressive defensive scheme new to you?
Man, it's different. I don't believe I've been on a team that sends that much pressure that amount of times throughout the game. I'm used to three-man front, this team, we tend to mix it up, which is good, throw in a lot of blitz packages. But it definitely helps us in the back end with bad throws from the quarterbacks and just a line that can make better plays. Sometimes, the front is so good that in the back end, we're not really getting anything our way because the guys are able to get to the backfield, so it's definitely beneficial to the team entirely.
LSU offense fit the billing of being a tough offense to handle?
So that matchup, the matchup for us, I felt like in practice, we were really working hard, we were getting good looks from the scout team, so practice was actually harder than the game since we had a lot of guys on the team working so hard. So it kind of felt real natural being in the game, everybody was confident due to our preparation in practice, so we weren't – nobody came in scared, everybody was ready, we're ready to play, we're ready to go and just do the things we've been doing in practice.
Ever played in front of 70,000 fans?
I'd say at UNT, we played against Iowa one time, so I'd say that was a pretty packed out game. But seeing the Rose Bowl like that, that was an experience, it was euphoric and it's something that I'll probably remember for the rest of my life, definitely.
Starting 2-0 and being ranked help bring that atmosphere to the rest of the home games?
That's a great question, I'm really hoping that fans are hyped about this team due to what we've done so far and that people will continue to fill up the stadium. I noticed that a good amount of the stadium was filled by LSU fans, who are well-known for traveling. So if we could just get all of LA and all the bandwagoners to hop on, that's great, we need everybody.
Trying to get NIL deal out of the blue shirt thing?
I haven't even really taken advantage of the NIL thing, I've been locked onto the overall goal of trying to win these games. But as far as the sissy blue shirt goes, I haven't really looked into it that much, I'm sure maybe some other guys have, I have no clue. I'm just focused on trying to get a ring this year, that's it.
Regaining focus during improvement week, bridge big win to Fresno State game?
It's not always easy to win, we should celebrate our wins and that's definitely what we did after that game, but like Chip Kelly been saying, next. It's time to reset, everybody, we've been coming into practice real focused, everybody knows that we have a chip on our shoulder from the past few years. I haven't been here, but I can see it in everybody's eyes on that team that has been here, that they have a chip on their shoulder. We're trying to prove a point this year, we've got a great team, we know what we have, so we're ignoring the hype of whatever everything on media is saying. That's all good, all that candy, the eye candy, we're just buckling down and staying humble and preparing for the next game, trying to win.
MARTELL IRBY
Moving from running back to defense?
Man, first and foremost I want to say I’m blessed and thankful to be where I’m at right now, it’s been quite the journey and I’m thankful for how everything’s turned out, but the process wasn’t as crazy as one might think of it. In high school I played DB, I had a couple of opportunities to play at the next level a safety-type position and coach Kelly just kind of reached out to me after the season and last season was hard for me – I had surgery on my knee and then I missed the remainder of the season with contact tracing – so he just reached out to me and we were talking on the phone, really, just how would you feel about it? And I was like, ‘Coach, I just want an opportunity to play, I just want an opportunity to contribute to the team. I was down for whatever, so what transpired over time with the room I’ve been placed in with coach Azz and coach Norwood and all the other people at my position – Qwuantrezz Knight, Nimmo, Shea Pitts, [another name I can’t make out], they just take me under their wing and it’s just like to learn the process and day by day I’m getting better, you know? So just trusting the process and just never forgetting and just work, always being hungry, so yeah. I’m loving it.
Priority to hit LSU hard with Lake and Knight?
I feel like it’s not even specifically toward this game, it’s something that we’ve been trying to incorporate into who we are is like you need like a hard-hitting [cant make out] and just be able to be hungry and show that on the field in workouts that we have, with our trainer, coach KB, and it’s just being able to play with that sense of tenacity and that’s just a byproduct of it, you know?
Want to profit off "sissy blue shirt" at all?
No, sir. Not at all. Not at all. It was a funny little thing that transpired but I’m not worried about that at all, me and my teammates are not worried about that at all. We’re really just focused on the task at hand and being able to attack this week and not think about it as a bye week or anything like that but just improve daily and not worry about NIL, not worry about sissy blue, none of that really is on our mind. We’re just here to play and we’re just continue to do so.
Maximizing Jordan Brand? Like the headwear?
Oh, man, they’re taking care of us. We’re very appreciative, we love Jordan, you know? Blessed. Blessed, man.
Quality of product good?
Yes, of course. Of course. I feel like as, well, me, I can speak for myself, as a kid I always grew up, you know, dang, I want Jordans, so for it to actually transpire and for us to now be a Jordan Brand (school), it was a big deal initially but I feel like we’re over it now, we’re ready to work regardless of what we have on—Nike, Jordan, Adidas, you know? Like, we’re just going to go out and play and do it for our brothers and the people to the left and the right of us regardless of where you put us out there on the field.
What do you need to improve on?
That’s a good question, sir. Going into this week, I’m really just sitting and breaking down film from last week and everything that we’ve been focusing on throughout the year and anything that we’ve been training on up until this point and one thing I really feel like me and all our DBs really need work on is just continuing to fall in love with the process like, specifically from now [inaudible] is continue to play fast, continue to tackle the way we were tackling and just rally around each other. I don’t think it’s just one thing as a team or as a defense that we can really pinpoint, but it’s just all the little things. We come out here and practice for hours a day and we have different corrections that we can work on, so to take that and be coachable and just push forward but it’s like, we could do something good today, we could do something bad tomorrow but just being able to take the coaching and just press forward, so that’s really what every day is about with this team.
Defense changed how it hides blitzes, QBs don't see them?
Well, that’s a huge thing thanks to coach Azz – he’s been doing his thing and he’s just telling us what to do and we’re trusting him and we’re bought in and just repetition day in and day out, trying to perfect the scheme that he has and just going out and just making it happen. Have a blessed one.
Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow All Bruins on Twitter at @SI_AllBruins
Like All Bruins on Facebook at @SI.AllBruins
Read more UCLA stories: UCLA Bruins on Sports Illustrated
Read more UCLA football stories: UCLA Football on Sports Illustrated
