The Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine Bowl came and went and were overshadowed by some more coaching changes across college football.
As college players did their best to stand out in front of NFL scouts and talent evaluators, a number of UCLA players boosted their resumes.
Laiatu Latu is the obvious one and looks like an easy choice to go in the first round. However, Darius Muasau drew some praise from Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic in his piece listing the most intriguing prospects at the Shrine Bowl (subscription required):
The best linebacker at the Shrine Bowl, Muasau (more than 50 combined starts between UCLA and Hawaii) led a stingy Bruins defense with 38 run stops last season. He showed great burst and fluidity in coverage this week and was the most physical in the group via run fits. He ran alongside Penn State linebacker Curtis Jacobs — a very fast defender — in most individual drills.
Muasau also was the loudest linebacker on the field and seemed to be the most in control setting defenses during team periods. He could be bigger, but he’s a quality high-floor linebacker prospect.
Muasau clearly made an impression at the Shrine Bowl as four total players from UCLA made the trip. The Murphy twins also stood out, but it was Muasau who might have benefitted the most from it.
It will be interesting to see how Muasau does over the next few weeks as he tries to impress NFL scouts.