Report: Maalik Murphy wins Duke quarterback competition

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Maalik Murphy has won the Duke quarterback competition and will start in the team’s season opener against Elon.

Murphy transferred into the program after spending two years at Texas but sitting behind Quinn Ewers. Now, he gets his chance to be a full-time starter with the Blue Devils.

“Sources: Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy has won the Blue Devil starting job and will start the opener against Elon,” Thamel said via X. “Murphy is a Texas transfer who won both his starts last year (BYU and Kansas State) for the Longhorns and threw for 477 yards and three touchdowns.”

As Thamel mentioned, there is some starting experience for Murphy albeit, limited. When Ewers went down with an injury last season, head coach Steve Sarkisian gave Murphy the opportunity to play. Along with the 477 yards and three touchdowns, three interceptions fell on the stat sheet too.

But most importantly, Texas came out of the two starts with two wins. Those wound up being quite important for the Longhorns as they finished the regular season 11-1, earning a spot in the Big 12 Championship game. A win against Oklahoma State in Arlington then placed them in the College Football Playoff, a first-ever appearance for the program.

Unfortunately, Murphy did not get to experience the CFP with Texas. He had to jump into the NCAA transfer portal to find his new home quickly. Murphy reflected on the decision when speaking at ACC Media Days.

“Starting off, it was definitely tough for me just because of the position I was in with my previous team,” Murphy said. “We were heading, trying to win a national championship. You know what I’m saying? It was definitely tough separating myself from the team during that time, kind of just doing what was best for me.”

Visits to Baylor, South Carolina, and Oregon State took place during the process for Murphy. Ultimately, Duke won out and he is now preparing to play the first game of the Manny Diaz era in Durham. A big opportunity for Murphy after waiting his turn for two seasons. Kickoff against Elon is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Aug. 30.

Murphy played high school football at Gardena (CA) Junipero Serra, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 205 overall recruit in the 2022 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.