St. John Bosco OT Joe Murphy talks UCLA and USC unofficial visits

Class of 2016 offensive tackle Joe Murphy has been grinding it out on the Saint John Bosco varsity football team over the past two seasons. First as a reserve during his sophomore season behind monster USC signee Damien Mama (6’5”, 360 lbs) through a state and national championship in 2013 and then as a devastating starting tackle in his own right during a semifinal run into the California high school playoffs in 2014.

As Murphy and company kept the nation’s Class of 2015 top quarterback Josh Rosen’s (UCLA) uniform clean and created massive holes for highly recruited running back Sean McGrew (Class of 2016) last season college recruiters took notice.

The 6’4”, 307 pound, tackle is a rising star on the recruiting circuit with college coaches clamoring to have Murphy visit their campus for an unofficial visit and as a camp participant. If Joe decides to camp at the various colleges that are handing out personal camp invites, his stock in the 2016 class will quickly rise. Once the offers start pouring in watch the different recruiting services start sliding his ranking north.

Before the various recruiting websites play catch-up, UCLA and USC have already hosted Murphy on unofficial visits seeking to set up a relationship with the area’s rising star.

In an exclusive Recruiting News Guru interview we caught up with Joe after a Chris Asher Gold Medal Excellence speed training camp in Los Angeles to get the lowdown on his unofficial visits to UCLA and USC.

 

Joe, you’ve been a busy guy lately. You killed your shuttle run at Chris Asher’s speed training camp on Sunday running a 4.64 after attending USC’s Spring Game on April 18 and UCLA’s Spring Showcase on April 25. But before attending both spring games you made an unofficial to the UCLA campus, how did that go for you?

“I went to the UCLA campus on Monday April 20. The visit went well. I enjoyed the campus, the campus is beautiful. The coaches are super nice. They made me feel at home. Coach (Jim) Mora was really nice as well.

“They’re building a $90 million facility on campus. They break ground in June. It was amazing seeing the plans. That is something I want to be a part of it.”

Did the coaches talk to you about your film?

“They did. They said they loved my film, loved my footwork, and said I am a great fit for them.”

Where was everything left with the Bruins then?

“They said they are going to further evaluate me in the spring and asked me to go to the summer camp June 26. I was already planning on going but that made me want to go even more.”

Did you sit in on any team meetings?

“I didn’t get to sit in on any O-line meetings. I got to watch the drills first hand. I got to watch the practice. Last time I was on the sidelines and did not get to see everything as close as I did on Monday. One thing I really liked, they make the same calls that we make at Bosco. If I went there the transition would not be a problem what so ever.”

Did you tour any areas of the campus or facilities?

“When I got there they called a tour guide. The tour guide took me around the campus. UCLA is a great academic school. I enjoyed it. I got to observe a class from an observation window. The classroom was high-tech. The professor had a power point presentation and everyone was using laptops. I liked it a lot. I thought it was really cool.”

When you made the campus visit did you go with another recruit, a teammate, or a family member?

“I went with my grandfather, Jessie.”

What about UCLA’s Spring Showcase? How did that go?

“When I got there, I had never been to the Rose Bowl before, I was very impressed with the stadium as compared to other stadiums. It was super nice. It seemed like a cool place to play on Saturdays.

“The Showcase – I thought it would be more of a game. I liked it though. I was able to see more of the drills than the game situational stuff. When I went to USC’s spring game it was a four quarter event.”

When you went to the Spring Showcase how did the UCLA coaches interact with you then?

“They seemed even more interested in me than when I made the campus visit. As soon as I got there, there were 15 recruits who were checking in, the coaches took me down to the eating room. Coach Bentz sat with us and talked to us the whole time. Then he walked me down to the field. In the middle of the game he was talking to me, asking me if I liked it.

“Coach Mora talked to me for a little bit. He’s a really nice guy. You could tell he had a lot going on that day.”

Who went with you go to the Spring Showcase?

“My grandfather and one of my teammates, Richard Kennedy, went with me. Richard is an offensive guard on Bosco. I consider him family. We come from the same roots.

“We met up with a couple of teammates there, Sean McGrew, Wyatt Davis and Ben Holmes (both Class of 2017 offensive lineman). Hanging with all of the guys was great. It helped build more team chemistry.”

Speaking of teammates, did you get to catch up with Josh Rosen?

“Yeah, we saw Josh. I talked to him for a little bit. He made some time to say what’s up.”

Do you have any plans to visit the UCLA campus before the summer camp?

“The coaches did say I could come down there anytime I want. Right now I am focusing on spring ball. Before the summer I might go to campus one more time to get a better feel of the campus.”

Tell us about your unofficial to USC.

“It was cool. Being there was awesome. I was there with a bunch of Bosco guys and we got to see older Bosco guys (OLB Malik Dorton, P Reid Budrovich, and OT Nico Falah). I got to talk to Damien Mama for a little bit.

“It was pretty cool to see their situational football. They worked on different things like getting the ball on the 40-yard line and scoring. Putting the ball on the goal line and going for the score. I thought it was cool.”

Do you have any other unofficial visits or camps scheduled with other programs coming up?

“I’m going to Colorado, Arizona, ASU (Arizona State), and Miami. Miami is a big one because I’m Cuban. When I’m there I’ll get to see some family. Other than that I’m not exactly sure. I have to take the SAT sometime in there. I want to go to SDSU (San Diego State) and WSU (Washington State) too. If the schedule works out I will do those schools too.”

Which schools other than UCLA or USC are showing more and more interest in your right now?

“Colorado and ASU are showing a lot of interest. Colorado invited me to their camp. I’ve never met the ASU coaches in person but we’ve been in some contact. Hopefully when I meet with them in person that will ramp up their interest in me.

“I met with Nebraska’s defensive coordinator (Mark Banker). They’re sending me mail here and there.”

Where are you at with Miami?

“I get mail here and there from them. Their offensive line coach (Art Kehoe) will be here in two weeks. They’re looking to get a feel on me. They are going to evaluate me during our spring ball. Hopefully if I show out at the camp they’ll ask me to stay for another day. That would be great.”

 

Written by Ryan Wright

Photo credit: Joe Murphy; Joe with UCLA freshman QB Josh Rosen