Longhorns land foundation piece with commit from quarterback Maalik Murphy
After recruiting had stalled for the Texas Longhorns in the last half of the 2020 calendar year, the new Texas coaching staff, led by head coach Steve Sarkisian, has been able to establish some quick momentum with commitments from top national prospects like Armani Winfield and Jaydon Blue.
Moments ago, the Texas train picked up even more momentum with a commitment from Rivals100 quarterback Maalik Murphy, who announced his pledge on Twitter.
Murphy, out of Gardena (CA) Serra, is a highly-coveted prospect who holds more than 30 scholarship offers from some of college football’s top programs. Sarkisian and the UT staff were able to make quick inroads with the talented quarterback thanks to Sarkisian’s reputation as a developer of talent, and his West Coast ties.
“What Sarkisian has done over the last few years at Alabama has been remarkable. And what he displayed this last season, with Mac Jones being a first-year starter, I think that's really, really big for quarterbacks. You have a head coach and an offensive coordinator who understands what you want to do and accomplish. I think Sarkisian being a California guy is also very intriguing to Maalik,” said Murphy’s 7 on 7 coach Malik James of Premium Sports. “The state of Texas has been such a hotbed for keeping their talent in state, but Sarkisian has the resources and the relationships back on the West Coast and that allows Maalik to feel a little more comfortable with getting down here, knowing he has a guy who was once a quarterback and he's just coached at Alabama in a national championship, and he wants to score points. I mean it's hard for a quarterback not to want to take that out and look into it.”
Murphy has yet to start a varsity game for Serra, but it’s impossible to not recognize his talents based on what he’s shown at camps and on the 7-on-7 circuit. His arm strength and natural throwing ability are on par with any quarterback in the 2022 class, and he’s only begun to scratch the surface of his potential. With Sarkisian’s track record of developing quarterbacks, his decision to commit to Texas could be a match made in heaven for both sides.
“He has things you can’t train for. You can’t train to be 6-5, 235 pounds,” James said. “The best trait for me with Maalik is his patience. He's a very patient kid. I mean, with the way kids transfer high schools weekly, monthly, yearly, he could have been transferred out of his high school just to play earlier. But he trusts himself, his mother and his mom trusted in his ability and his development, and it's worked out for him. So that's going to let you know that if he to UT or any other program in the country, he's not going to be in any rush to say ‘I have to get on the field.’ He’s fine with waiting his turn, getting his reps, getting developed by his quarterback coach, his position, guys. And when his time comes, he's going to do exactly what he’s planning on doing this year if California has ball, or his senior year, and that's rip it up.”
Murphy joins a Texas recruiting class that already features Rivals100 running Blue, Rivals250 WR Winfield and Rivals250 DB Jaylon Guilbeau. Those who know him well describe Murphy as having an infectious personality, one that should help Texas’ recruiting efforts of other prospects, especially out west.
“He has a big personality. He’s just ultimately a team player,” James said. “Maalik is a really, really, really good kid. He’s really respectful, really humble.”
Ranked as a four-star prospect, Murphy checks in at No. 45 on the Rivals100. He’s the nation’s fifth-ranked quarterback prospect and the fifth-ranked prospect in the state of California. Lofty praise and expectations for a player who has yet to make his first varsity start, but Rivals.com recruiting analyst Adam Gorney says the praise and accolades are justified.
“Anybody that that dislikes Maalik Murphy just hasn't seen him in person. I mean, he looks like a million bucks. He's definitely one of the best looking quarterbacks in this class,” Gorney said. “I think if he walked in the room you would think kind of Cam Newton. He's a big tall kid, definitely takes up the whole room. He will fill out physically but he's certainly not skinny by any means.
“He has not played a bunch of high school football because, for one, Serra has been good at the (quarterback) position and he just kind of had to wait his turn. Also because there hasn't been a (2020) season out here, or he would have played and done really, really well. He trains all the time. He looks great when he's throwing the football. Receivers want to play with them because they know he's going to get them the ball. And then just physically he looks like he's ready to step onto a college football field.”
James, who has coached Murphy at Premium Sports since seventh grade, said he has no doubts that Murphy will star at the next level.
“Once he gets going … I think he’s going to do great things,” James said.