Murray’s rise to a starting role was all the more unlikely considering he mostly played guard during his three seasons at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana. UCLA offensive line coach Justin Frye triggered the position switch in the off-season by telling Murphy he might be moving to center at the college level.
The transition was eased by someone familiar with going from Mater Dei to UCLA. Chris Ward, who played guard at both schools, coached Murray as the Monarchs’ offensive line coach and further developed his technique as part of a new offensive lineman training venture also run by Kody Afusia, a former center at Hawaii.