Steve Sarkisian delivers update on quarterback Maalik Murphy

Maalik Murphy could be the next standout quarterback to come through Texas. A highly-touted signal-caller who’s heading into his true freshman season with the Longhorns, Murphy – an On3 Consensus four-star recruit – is finally getting to go through spring practices with the team after dealing with an ankle injury he suffered in his high school state championship game back in December.

Murphy, a 6-foot-5, 232-pound quarterback out of Junipero Serra High School in California, was able to take the field Tuesday for Texas’ seventh practice of its spring period. Following the practice, Longhorns’ head coach Steve Sarkisian met with the media and spoke about how Murphy is progressing.

“Very limited,” Sarkisian said of Murphy’s production at practice Tuesday. “He’s kind of on the trajectory that we thought he’d be on. He was out, essentially, for six practices. Now, we’ve hit practice seven and he was able to throw kind of routes on air – not throwing anything with anyone around him. Hopefully, come Thursday, we can graduate into some seven-on-seven type settings. But again, I don’t want to rush him.

“He did some nice things today. It’s one thing to sit in meetings and just stand and watch plays develop; It’s another when you actually have to operate it. But you could tell he’s putting in the time and the work and the effort. He’s got a natural delivery, he’s got a good feel for passing the football. … We always say quarterbacks pass the ball, they don’t throw it – and he’s got a nice feel for passing the ball.”

Murphy, who was highly sought after during his recruitment process, made the decision to come to Texas and play for Sarkisian over a number of offers from other big-name programs – including Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M, Ohio State, LSU, Michigan and Penn State.

Murphy comes to the Longhorns after throwing for 2,973 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior at Serra. He finished his high school career with 4,548 passing yards and 31 touchdowns.