Tag: UCLA

2024 NFL draft: Seahawks hosting UCLA DL prospect for top-30 visit

The Seahawks will host UCLA defensive lineman Grayson Murphy.

UCLA edge Laiatu Latu is one of the top defensive line prospects in this draft class and is projected to be a first or second-round pick. He’s not the only Bruin up front who’s generating interest ahead of the draft, though.

According to Justin Melo at the Draft Network, the Seahawks will host UCLA defensive lineman Grayson Murphy for a top-30 visit.

Murphy (6-foot-3, 260 pounds) played his first two college seasons at North Texas, where he posted 11.5 sacks and 18.5 tackles for a loss in 19 games. Ahead of the 2022 season he transferred to UCLA. In 26 games with the Bruins he totaled another 10 sacks and 18 tackles for a loss.

According to PFF, for the 2023 season Murphy posted 21 quarterback hits, earning an 85.2 pass rush grade to go with a solid 74.7 grade in run defense. In addition to his pass rushing prowess, Murphy offers positional versatility, as he lined up practically everywhere but the A gap last year.

Here are the highlights.

Murphy is projected to be taken in the sixth round of the draft.

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2024 NFL draft: 7 most realistic options for Eagles in the first round

We’re looking at the seven most realistic options for the Philadelphia Eagles at Pick No. 22 overall in the first round of the NFL draft

With the first wave of NFL free agency over, all eyes around the league will turn toward pro days and one final month-long push toward April’s NFL draft.

Philadelphia has needs, but after a strong start to the free agency process, the first-round pick (No. 22) could be about nagging the best player available or a potential building block in the trenches.

Mock draft season is in full swing, and most draft experts and pundits will likely simulate 100s scenarios for all seven rounds, with realistic options starting to take shape.

With visits to the top 30 starting to increase, we’re looking at the seven most realistic options for Philadelphia at pick No. 22.

2024 NFL mock draft: Quarterbacks, wide receivers dominate first five picks

Mock draft season is in full swing, and with Top 30 visits starting to increase, we’re looking at an updated first round mock for all 32 NFL teams.

The 2024 salary cap is set at $255.4 million.

The Ravens will look drastically different on both sides of the football field after undergoing massive changes in player personnel and the coaching staff.

Eric DeCosta started the off-season with urgency, signing Justin Madubuike, one of the league’s best defensive linemen, to an extension. After inking Madubuike to a deal, Baltimore landed Derrick Henry for two years and $16 million.

However, the Ravens suffered significant free-agent losses. Patrick Queen (Steelers), Geno Stone (Bengals), and Gus Edwards (Chargers) were among eight free agents to sign elsewhere. Baltimore also traded Morgan Moses to the Jets and released Tyus Bowser in a cost-cutting move.

With the second wave of free agency set to begin, we’re reviewing an updated first-round mock draft.

2024 NFL mock draft: Quarterbacks, wide receivers dominate first five picks

Mock draft season is in full swing, and with Top 30 visits starting to increase, we’re looking at an updated two round mock for all 32 NFL teams.

With the first wave of NFL free agency over, all eyes around the league will turn toward pro days and one final month-long push toward April’s NFL draft.

Philadelphia has needs, but after a solid start to the free agency process, the first-round pick (No. 22) could be about nagging the best player available or a potential building block in the trenches.

Mock draft season is in full swing, and with Top 30 visits starting to increase, we’re looking at an updated two-round mock for all 32 NFL teams.

2024 Eagles mock draft roundup: Philadelphia reloads at cornerback position

With Top 30 visits starting to increase, we’re looking at an updated mock draft roundup for Philadelphia at pick No. 22.

With the first wave of NFL free agency over, all eyes around the league will turn toward pro days and one final month-long push toward April’s NFL draft.

Philadelphia has needs, but after a strong start to the free agency process, the first-round pick (No. 22) could be about nagging the best player available or a potential building block in the trenches.

Mock draft season is in full swing, and most draft experts and pundits believe the Eagles will reshape the secondary by targeting a cornerback.

With Top 30 visits starting to increase, we’re looking at an updated mock draft roundup for Philadelphia at pick No. 22.

2024 Ravens mock draft roundup: Baltimore reloads at offensive tackle

We’re looking at the updated mock draft roundup for Baltimore as the Ravens rebuild the offensive line

With the first wave of NFL free agency over, all eyes around the league will turn toward pro days and one final month-long push toward April’s NFL draft.

Baltimore has needs, but after a solid start to the free agency process, the first-round pick (No. 30) could be about nagging the best player available or a potential building block in the trenches.

Mock draft season is in full swing, and most draft experts and pundits believe the Ravens are set for a rebuild in the trenches.

With the Top 30 visits increasing, we’re looking for updated options for Baltimore at pick No. 30.

Notre Dame Football: Irish reportedly losing key staffer to Big Ten

More moves for Fighting Irish football…

According to FootballScoop, Notre Dame is losing a key member of their football staff.

Butler Benton joined the Notre Dame staff as Assistant Athletic Director for Player Personnel in April of 2023 after spending the two previous seasons as the General Manager at the University of Arkansas.

Accoring to the FootballScoop report:

Sources tell FootballScoop that Benton has left his post as the assistant athletic director to become the new GM for DeShaun Foster at UCLA.

The report goes on to mention that the deal could be announced as early as Monday.  Benton heading to UCLA sets him up to return to the Big Ten where he served as the player personnel coordinator at Michigan State under Mark Dantonio.

Decorated NFL coach takes job with a Big Ten school

Decorated NFL coach takes job with a Big Ten school

Longtime NFL assistant coach Eric Bieniemy is taking the offensive coordinator job with head coach DeShaun Foster’s new staff at UCLA, according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Bieniemy was previously UCLA’s running backs coach from 2003-2005. He was last coaching in the college game from 2011-2012 at Colorado — his alma mater. The decorated offensive coordinator spent 2013-2022 with the Kansas City Chiefs, five years as running backs coach and five as offensive coordinator. He joined the Washington Commanders staff for the 2023 season before now making the jump back to college.

Related: Big Ten starting quarterback rankings for 2024

The new UCLA offensive coordinator was a key piece of head coach Andy Reid’s staff in Kansas City that won two Super Bowls in a four-year span from 2019-2022. His name often came up in head coaching discussions around the league, though he was never able to land a job.

He joins Foster’s staff at UCLA which is dealing with the departure of head coach Chip Kelly this offseason. That while the program prepares to enter the Big Ten and the new landscape of college football.

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Editorial Note: National NFL writers, high-profile sports talkers and even fans have championed this idea of every college coach leaving the sport ‘because of NIL and the transfer portal.’ First, the numbers don’t say that. And then this happens, so of course we must ask the same questions

 

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

Softball goes 0-2 in its first day at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic

The Nebraska softball team opened its first day at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic with a doubleheader against San Diego State and No. 19 UCLA.

The Nebraska softball team opened its first day at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic with a doubleheader against San Diego State and No. 19 UCLA. The Huskers fell in hard-fought games, losing to San Diego State 3-2 then 9-8 to UCLA.

In the loss to the Aztecs, Nebraska held a one-run lead twice but struggled to pull away, going 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Peyton Cody led the Huskers in the batter’s box, going 2-for-3 and hitting a home run.

Freshman Emmerson Cope also drove in a run for Nebraska, putting it on the board in the second inning. Cope also started in the circle and pitched for 3.1 innings, giving up one run. Sarah Harness pitched 1.1 innings and allowed one run.

In the loss to UCLA, the Huskers fumbled an 8-4 lead to the Bruins in the seventh, after holding UCLA went up 4-1 in the first. Billie Andrews powered Nebraska’s bats, hitting 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs, two RBIs and three runs scored. Freshman Samantha Bland doubled twice and drove in two runs, while Cody hit 1-for-2 with an RBI double.

Freshman Caitlin Olensky started in the circle for the Huskers and allowed four runs in 1.0 inning. Harness followed Olensky and pitched the next 2.0 innings allowing zero runs. Kaylin Kinney threw 3.1 innings of relief and was charged with five runs. She pitched 3.0 scoreless innings of relief heading into the seventh inning.

The Huskers fall to 6-5 with the loss and will play No. 23 Oregon Saturday for the second day of the tournament. The first pitch is at noon and can be viewed on FloSoftball.

Draft expert sells Saints fans on top pass rusher Laiatu Latu

NFL draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah understands why Saints fans are leery of another pass rusher, but says Laiatu Latu ‘is totally different’ from past busts

NFL draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah understands why New Orleans Saints fans are leery of seeing their team pick another pass rusher — they’ve swung and missed at several prospects early in recent draft cycles.

Marcus Davenport. Payton Turner. Now, Isaiah Foskey. All of them have failed to deliver either for missing time with injuries or not producing when on the field. It’s been a frustrating experience for the Saints to pour so many resources into the position group and have so little to show for it.

And the pass rush is an area of concern for the Saints again this year after they failed to get after the quarterback last season. One popular prospect for them in media mock drafts is UCLA star Laiatu Latu, who Jeremiah describes as a breath of fresh air given New Orleans’ past approach.

“Look, with Latu, he is totally different than those guys you just mentioned,” Jeremiah began, speaking on a national conference call Thursday. “So their formula that they had been chasing is more traits-based. All those guys you mentioned were kind of more raw, not technical pass rushers, but big, physical, explosive guys who weren’t technicians.”

The 6-foot-4, 261-pound Latu has plenty of size for the Saints’ standards even if he isn’t as tall as Tanoh Kpassagnon or as heavy as Cameron Jordan. And he’s been highly productive in two years at UCLA. Latu sacked the quarterback 23.5 times in 25 games while racking up 34 tackles for loss. He also finished with five forced fumbles and two interceptions. He’s a game-changer, and it’s a result of the work he’s put in to hone his craft.

Jeremiah continued: “Latu is a technician, man. I compare him to Trey Hendrickson. He is really good with his hands. He can win a variety of ways. He has a natural feel for pass rush. Some parts of the pass rush remind me of wide receivers. There’s route runners. There’s an artistry to it. Latu is an artist.”

That’s not to say Latu is a perfect prospect. He transferred to UCLA and missed the 2020 and 2021 seasons after a neck injury threatened his college career. It hasn’t been a problem in the years since, but it’s an injury history teams like the Saints must take seriously.

He’s moved on from that scary incident and developed into maybe the best pass rusher in this year’s draft class. Teams like the Saints would be wise to consider him.

“He is really, really gifted that way. So a totally different style than the guys that you mentioned that maybe they haven’t hit on in the past,” Jeremiah finished.

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