He’s 6-7, 275, smart, agile and gifted, and he can go anywhere he wants. Kyle Murphy has a 3.92 G.P.A. He drives defenders off the line like they owe his mother money. He’s nimble enough to play left tackle and tenacious enough to be an enforcer in a mob movie.
The Ducks want him, but so does everybody else. He’s smart enough to go to Cal or Stanford if he wants. If he dreams of playing pro football, he could do that too, and he’s likely to be a three-year starter anywhere he chooses to go in the NCAA.
Photo left: Kyle Murphy is on every West Coast coaches’ short list, but landing him will be a tall order (espngo.com photo).
Big and getting bigger, strong and getting stronger, he’s rated the #3 or #4 tackle in high school football, depending on which basement-dwelling expert you ask, but of all the big names, he’s the best fit for the Oregon offense. He has great mobility and played for an up-tempo spread offense at San Clemente High School on a team that went 12-2 his senior year, racking up 226 rushing yards per game.
Offensive linemen tend to be calm, placid guys. They’re the intellectuals and the philosophers of a football team, unfailingly the best quotes, the guys who wind up working on graduate degrees by the end of their junior year. Murphy, a very bright young man, has all that, but he has another dimension: he’s a tough, nasty football player who likes to dominate people, at least until the whistle blows. Greatwood will love him, and put the finishing touches on making him a millionaire.
Scouting Notes:
At the high school level Murphy just dominates and destroys his man, on some plays driving him all the way back to the bus. He’s agile enough to pull and lead a play from his left tackle spot. Has very good feet for a big man and explosive and athletic with a 31″ vertical. Stays on a block with tenacity and a nice trace of disciplined meanness, giving his running back extra time to manuever and break free. Gets in that extra powerful shove that breaks a big play.
Tremendously strong in his upper body and controls a defender with powerful arms. High school attack employs the spread and zone blocking. With his intelligence he’ll adapt quickly and absorb technique readily.
Like many prep big men he gets upright a little too quickly, relying on his awesome size and strength advantage at this level. He manhandles smaller defenders; it really isn’t fair. He’ll have to be coached up to refine his technique for D-1 football and bigger, more agile opponents, but he has the competitive fire to excel at this and the next level of football if he wants it.
The Ducks thrive on smart, athletic linemen and he has that smart, disciplined, consistent playing demeanor of a Mark Asper or Carson York. High school runs no-huddle, up tempo so he looks conditioned, a big athlete rather merely a fat guy.
At 3:56, he ranges 20 yards downfield on a screen to the tailback, lead blocking for a big gain. Finds his man and stays on him, keeping his hands inside the shoulder pads. His control of the defender is so complete he will simply frustrate opponents into losing their poise on some plays; totally negates the defense’s advantage of being able to use their hands and see the play–if he gets position on a guy the defender is just helpless to get off the block. Has a wrestler’s tough mentality in winning the confrontation. Like his aggressiveness, which is tough to find in offensive linemen.
Unbelievable how he stays on a block and keeps driving. Just relentless. A team guy. You can see him adjusting the tailback’s shoulder pads after one play; has the protector mentality so essential for a good left tackle. Cue Sandra Bullock’s speech in “The Blind Side.”
Pass blocking, he has the wide, powerful base and good leverage; he’s just a wall the defender can’t get around. Holds his ground, prevents penetration, keeps his feet moving.
Like the way he goes to work out there. Executes his responsibilities. Very determined and consistent. Will drive a man 10 yards off the ball but when the play gets by and he can’t maintain contact without a foul, he lets him go. Smart. Won’t make stupid penalties or freshman mistakes. He’ll challenge to play early, even right away, although he still has growing to do at 285. He could easily play at 300-305 after a year in the college weight room and training table and still be just as mobile and nimble. Great frame.
The play is signalled from the sideline, no huddle, so he’s used to that framework. Will readily adapt to the pace and demands of an Oregon practice. Has experienced 80% of it.
His persistence is sustaining a block allows the running back cutback lanes and options and leads to big plays. A fast, small tailback like De’Anthony Thomas or Byron Marshall will have big days running behind him. He’s a piledriver, a steamroller, a churnin’ earn of burnin’ block. Guys stay blocked. His guy gets room to operate and flow. It builds confidence and assertiveness on the part of the running back. He knows there will be a hole, so hesitation doesn’t creep in. Really spearheads the running attack in a big way. Reliable and tough, a quiet leader. Calmly takes three big breaths and looks to the sideline for the next play. Very focused effort.
At 5:38 it’s an outside running play to his side on the short side of the field. The tailback takes a jab step and bursts outside. At first it looks like there is no hole, but the runner goes full speed knowing he can trust Murphy to defeat the containment, and he does. He hooks the defensive end so completely it collapses the outside and results in a big gain. The trust factor he creates is huge. The hole will be there. There’s no hesitation or dancing. Getting leverage on the outside defender is one of the toughest assignments in football (the defender has a built-in advantage with his split and the ability to use his hands) but Murphy makes it look routine.
6:10 they’re at the goal line, and they drive inside his right hip for the score as the left tackle gets a tremendous push drilling his defender two yards into the end zone and halfway to the hot dog stand. Murphy won’t let him near the mustard or the ball carrier. Easy touchdown. You can see Big Balls Chip on 4th and 1, not hesitating. Give it to Tyner, running behind Murphy. Huskies lose again.
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