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Published Oct 1, 2020
Deshun Murrell ready to take his cowboy hat to UCLA
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Chad Simmons  â€¢  Rivals.com
Recruiting Analyst
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@ChadSimmons_

CENTREVILLE, Ala. — Back in June, Bibb County running back Deshun Murrell committed to UCLA over schools like Duke, Northwestern, Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech.

The talented running back picked up the offer from the Bruins May 19, then less than a month later, on June 10, he committed to Chip Kelly and the staff in Los Angeles.

Murrell is not a player on the west coast that grew up knowing about UCLA, so what pushed the student-athlete all the way across the country to the Bruins?

"My love for UCLA kind of built up over a month or so, and then I was ready to commit," said Murrell. "When I first got the offer, I was ecstatic because a school 30 hours away from me knew about me.

"I didn't know I was known that far away, and once I talked to the coaches, explored UCLA more, and found out about the school, I felt that was the best opportunity for me. It won't just be great for me when I am going there, but after football as well. That was a big part of the decision too."

Since committing, the relationships have continued to grow with the staff at UCLA. Ethan Young and DeShaun Foster are the lead recruiters, with coach Kelly being involved too.

"I talked to all of them quite a bit. I talk to coach Foster almost every day, and I am in touch with coach Foster a lot too. I am also in a group chat with the coaches, so we are on there communicating a lot too.

"They keep up with me, they check up on me and the connections are strong. I can't wait to get out there and spend more time with them. They seem like good guys who care about the players and I like that a lot."

Not all schools have given up on Murrell. Some have moved on, but not all of them.

He is still listening to a few other schools, but his mind seems to be set on playing for the Bruins.

"Some schools have respected me and my decision, but others have recruited me just as hard, if not harder than what I committed," said Murrell. "Virginia, Duke and California are the schools that have continued to recruit me in a respectful way. They are some great schools and have good coaches, but my mind is still 100% on UCLA.

"When I am committed to something or someone, I am committed all the way. That is a big part of who I am. I don't see that changing.

"I told pretty much every coach that recruited me that when I commit, I am truly committed. I am in this with UCLA, I am strong and it would take so much for me to even think about decommitting."

Georgia Tech recently offered Murrell, and it is a school he plans to communicate with.

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