Tag: Darius Muasau

Giants draftee Darius Muasau embraces film study, special teams

New York Giants sixth-round pick Darius Muasau prides himself on being a studious, prepared player and special teams producer.

Following the 2024 NFL draft, New York Giants sixth-round pick Darius Muasau spoke with reporters and discussed what he would bring to the table as he joins the team and enters the NFL.

During the pre-draft process, one of the most important aspects of scouting is determining what additional value a player, especially a late-round pick, will bring to the team. Namely, can they play special teams and produce there?

As it turns out, Muasau played under current Giants special teams coach Michael Ghobrial at the University of Hawaii before transferring to UCLA.

“Yeah, Ghobi is my guy. I was at the University of Hawaii with him. He was my special teams coordinator. I was on the phone with him just chopping it up and he told me that I was getting drafted. Man, I was just very excited and just happy at the moment.” Muasau told reporters.

“I started playing special teams a lot during my freshman year at the University of Hawaii. As my playing time on the defense started rising, my playing time with special teams kind of dwindled. I did play special teams all three years at the University of Hawaii.”

Coming into the NFL is a major adjustment so it will certainly help a player like Muasau to have a familiar face on the coaching staff.

Any time a rookie can embrace the impact they can have on special teams, it’s a good headstart. Not only does Muasau embrace being a part of special teams, but he also loves watching film, which will be another big part of adjusting to the NFL.

“One thing that I pride myself on is being the most instinctive and smartest player on the field every time I step on the field. I love to watch film. That’s what I do,” he said. “I spend most of my days in the film room and also on the field but mostly in the film room breaking down film, knowing tendencies, and little details of the offense and I feel that’s what I do best. That’s why I’m headed to New York, and I’m just ready to showcase my abilities there.”

Muasau certainly seems ready to embrace everything that comes with his rookie season. If his work ethic matches his love of film study and his willingness to play special teams, he will have plenty of chances to shine during his debut season.

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Giants select Darius Muasau in 6th round of 2024 NFL Draft

Darius Muasau to New York!

The only other UCLA Bruins player to be selected in the 2024 NFL Draft besides Laiatu Latu was Darius Muasau. He went in the 6th round to the New York Giants.

A few other UCLA players inked free agent deals, but Muasau was able to hear his name called during Day 3 of the NFL Draft and was just the second UCLA player picked.

The Murphy twins ended up not getting selected in a bit of a surprising move.

The scouting report on Giants.com should have New York fans excited for the pick, and here’s a little bit about what they said about him:

  • Muasau plays with a phenomenal motor and has the instincts and recognition to get the jump on blocking schemes.

Muasau now goes from Hawaii to Los Angeles to New York and will begin his NFL career with the Giants.

2024 NFL draft: Giants select LB Darius Muasau in Round 6

With the No. 183 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, the New York Giants select UCLA linebacker Darius Muasau.

With the 183rd overall pick in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft, the New York Giants have selected UCLA linebacker Darius Muasau.

The 6-foot, 225-pound Muasau began his college career at Hawaii before transferring to UCLA in 2022. He appeared in 61 games, collecting 436 tackles (230 solo, 40 for a loss), 16.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, 14 passes defensed, five interceptions and one defensive touchdown.

Muasau, 23, was named First-team All-Mountain West in 2020 and 2021, and earned Second-Team All-Pac-12 honors in 2023.

Although Muasau is considered undersized for the position, he balances that out with a relentless motor and a no-fear attitude. He routinely sniffs out and chases down the ball, and finishes by forcing turnovers.

Because Muasau is on the smaller side and is forced to rely on heavy hitting and occasional gambles, he does miss more tackles than the Giants would like. Working on that discipline while not taking away what makes him productive will be key.

Muasau will compete for a roster spot but may end up on the team’s practice squad unless he carves out a valuable role on special teams. His style of play may be best suited for that, allowing him to sneak on the final 53 as he develops at the pro level.

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Four-star linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale to meet with UCLA

UCLA is a hosting a 4-star LB.

The UCLA Bruins remain in the mix for a top-rated outside linebacker. After offering a scholarship to Bethel linebacker Zaydrius Rainey-Sale back in March, the Bruins are one of his four official spring visit destinations. 

In an article from national recruiting editor Brandon Huffman for 247 Sports (subscription required), Rainey-Sale lists UCLA, Arizona State, Washington, and Florida State as his official visits this spring. 

On May 17th, the Bruins get the first crack at trying to seal the deal for Rainey-Sale. If their pitch can blow him away, the remaining teams on his list will have to chase UCLA in their offer. 

With the Bruins graduating the Murphy twins, Laiatu Latu and Darius Muasau, this season, they are looking for their future pass-rusher. Locking in Rainey-Sale could be the start of another wave of great UCLA defenders.

Though Rainey-Sale still has his senior season to play at Bethel, the Bruins are planning for the future, a welcome sign under new head coach DeShaun Foster.

PHOTOS: UCLA Bruins at 2024 NFL Combine

Here are the photos from the UCLA players at the first couple days of the NFL Combine.

The UCLA Bruins have three players at this year’s NFL Combine, although it should’ve been four if the other Murphy twin had been invited.

The three players representing UCLA at the 2024 NFL Combine are Darius Muasau, Gabriel Murphy, and Laiatu Latu.

Latu is looking like an easy first-round selection and has even been in the top 10 of a few mock drafts.

The NFL Combine is the perfect chance for players to make a name for themselves and move up draft boards, and all three of the UCLA players have impressed at the Combine.

Here are some photos from their time.

Darius Muasau catches attention after East-West Shrine Bowl

Darius Muasau listed as one of the most intriguing prospects from the Shrine Bowl.

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.

Laiatu Latu highlights 3 UCLA players invited to NFL Scouting Combine

Three UCLA players have received invites to the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.

The UCLA Bruins football program is about to undergo a big change after DeShaun Foster was hired as the head coach to replace Chip Kelly.

However, a few UCLA football players are heading for the NFL and trying to make a mark in the 2024 NFL Draft. On Tuesday, the full list of players invited to the NFL Scouting Combine was released, and there are three UCLA players on the list:

  • Laiatu Latu
  • Darius Muasau
  • Gabriel Murphy

Latu is expected to be a surefire first-round pick and has been taken in the top 10 in some mock drafts, so he has a chance to move up even higher if he performs well at the Combine.

The Murphy twins made some noise at the East-West Shrine Bowl, but only Gabriel was invited to the Combine.

Darius Muasau is another play that has garnered attention this offseason, so all three UCLA players will have a lot of eyes on them at the Scouting Combine.

This year’s Combine is on February 26 through March 4 in Indianapolis.

4 defensive standouts from Shrine Bowl practices

The defense was strong at the East-West Shrine Bowl practices. Which 2024 NFL draft prospects were standouts from that side of the ball?

The Senior Bowl isn’t the only college all-star game for NFL draft prospects to shine. East-West Shrine Bowl practices wrapped up on Tuesday morning, and the New Orleans Saints were in attendance. The defense jumped off the screen at multiple positions. Throughout the four days of practice, I found myself gravitating towards the defense during practice for both teams.

The position group that stood out the most was the defensive ends on the West team. You could have filled the defensive standouts with just that group and been justified. I decided to pick one guy from the group in Sundiata Anderson, however. These are four defensive standouts from the Shrine Bowl practices:

UCLA’s defense is something the Ducks will look to exploit in Autzen

While the Bruins offense has been sensational, the defense has just been okay and Oregon will need to take advantage.

UCLA’s defensive statistics won’t jump off the page, but one quality they do have, and not all teams have this, is they are able to get a stop when they absolutely need one.

The offense is dynamic to be sure, but the Bruin defense has to ability to step up and set the offense up for success at any time. But against the two teams with play-making abilities, Washington and Utah, the Bruin defense had some trouble.

Now UCLA is going to face the best offense they’ve played against in Oregon and unlike those other games against the Huskies and Utah, this won’t be in the Rose Bowl. It’ll be against the very hostile environment of Autzen Stadium. This is no doubt, the biggest test the Bruins will face until they meet USC towards the end of the season.

Transfers are all over the place in Los Angeles, especially with the Trojans, but perhaps the biggest transfer in that town goes to UCLA in linebacker Darius Muasau. He came to the Bruins from Hawai’i after the 6-foot-1, 230-pounder left the Rainbow Warriors with 274 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 26.5 tackles for loss, and two inceptions over the last three seasons on the island.

The two-time First Teamer All-Mountain West performer has kept on playing at a high level as a Bruin. Muasau leads UCLA with 38 tackles, half of those being solo and one interception.

While Mausau is a ball hawk, UCLA’s other linebacker, Laiatu Latu goes after the quarterback. He leads the team with 6.5 sacks.

Oregon might want to try to exploit the Bruins’ secondary if the weather conditions allow it. UCLA gives up 245 yards through the air. Nickel back JonJon Vaughns has two of their seven interceptions. They play a lot of zone defense and their scheme impresses Oregon coach Dan Lanning, but as with any zone defense, there are some holes.

“They’ve done a good job. I think they play really good defense. They’re sound you can tell they’re well-coached,” he said. “They play a variety of coverages. They’re gonna play a little bit more solid than some of the teams that we played, which means they have good vision break on the ball, and usually, when you play more zone, it’s going to create more opportunities for interceptions. There are also holes in that zone.”

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