Interview: Athletic Abilities for 2024 Bishop Amat QB Richard Munoz Jr. Showing on Defense
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG
If there was a position on the gridiron that might be labeled as a prima donna spot, outside of receivers, quarterbacks get the worst of the well-intentioned verbal lashings from teammates. But every now and again a quarterback shows that not only is he the ultimate team player, but one willing to lay it all down on the line sacrificing his body with big hits lining up on the other side of the ball.
In one of the surprise performances of the 2020 season this spring in California, to get on the varsity field anyway possible Richard Munoz Jr. is playing free safety for his Bishop Amat brothers while serving as backup QB. In the Lancers two games played, the 5-11, 185-pound, athlete has put an end to nine plays with seven solo stops.
In an RNG update interview, Munoz stopped by the Lab detailing his freshman season on the field and how his role as a defender is helping his game as a quarterback.
*Click link for Oct. 2020 RNG video interview with Richard Munoz Jr.
Interview
Richard, a true testament to your athletic abilities, you’ve added playing safety for the Lancers this season getting on the field as a freshman. Two games in, how is the season going for you?
It is going pretty good. I like it. I am not starting yet, but I am getting half reps. It is going really well. It is great being on the field instead of sitting. I will play anywhere to get on the field.
With that quarterback-first approach to the offseason, when did you learn you’d be getting time in the Lancers’ secondary?
I was told after our first scrimmage that they wanted to try me out at safety while still getting second team reps at quarterback. They wanted to try me somewhere else so I am not sitting.
What are some of the coverages you guys are running this season?
Cover 2, 3, 4, and some man.
No doubt you’d rather be slinging the ball around the yard, but this opportunity should prove to be of immense value to you as a quarterback. How is playing safety helping you better understand how defenses work?
For me with my job, I am learning more about what a safety does and likes to do. It is helping me know what they will do. I know the defenses now, and that is helping me read them better as a quarterback.
Watching film during the week seeing what other quarterbacks are doing, what are some of the traits or tendencies you are seeing, good or bad, that will make you a better gunslinger?
Tough question. I have seen quarterbacks go 3 by 1, look the receiver off going deep. I am noticing the quarterbacks that look down their receivers. As a safety, I try to change up my tendencies during the pre-snap. I will fake like I am blitzing or run right before the snap. I try to switch it up.
Who do you guys get next?
This week is Chaminade.
What are you expecting from Chaminade?
A lot of passing. They run the Spread. They can run it too, but they like to pass it a lot, just like Alemany last week.
What goals have you set for the remainder of the season?
I am trying to become the starter at safety. Hopefully I can get there as a freshman starting at safety.
How are your practices reps at QB coming along?
I am getting second spot reps when I am not at safety. If I am not at safety, I’m at QB.
Where are you showing the improvements as a quarterback this spring?
I feel like I am more confident reading the field. I am better at it. In practice, I am completing more passes and I can read the defenses better. I know what they are doing.
Richard, it was great catching up with you today. Wishing you and the Lancers success this week taking on Chaminade.
Thank you, sir.
Photo credit: Munoz family; Richard Munoz