Devin Lucien doesn’t care what Greyson Lambert thinks of UCLA defense

Maybe it’s because he’s never started a game before, but Virginia quarterback Greyson Lambert missed a memo.

Slated to start behind center against UCLA on Saturday, the redshirt sophomore laid down some Grade-A chalkboard material this week when asked about the Bruins — who return eight starters to a defense ranked 35th nationally in opponent scoring, and add a potential star in defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa after a year off due to hip surgeries.

“We’ve been going up guys on our defense every day in practice that are just as good, or better,” Lambert told the Daily Press on Monday.

Lambert likely meant to talk up his own team, which — despite the presence of All-American safety Anthony Harris — allowed more points per game than all but 26 other teams in college football last season. Offensive players frequently laud their own defense when asked about preparation for an opponent, and the Cavaliers quarterback was only following the same routine.

UCLA wide receiver Devin Lucien took a similar tack on Tuesday.

“I feel like my secondary’s the best in the country,” Lucien said. “Going against (Virginia) is going to be like, ‘Let’s see what y’all got. For real.’ I’m not really scared. I’m just more excited to go against them.”

Asked if he had heard Lambert’s comments, Lucien responded quickly.

“I don’t care,” he said. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is what we’re about to do to them.”