Maalik Murphy becomes Texas' back-up quarterback
True freshman quarterback Maalik Murphy has made significant progress during his first year in the Longhorn football program. Though the 6-foot-5, 225-pounder from Inglewood (Calif.) Junipero Serra hasn’t seen any game action, Murphy has moved from the bottom of the quarterback depth chart to the No. 2 spot behind Quinn Ewers for Texas’ upcoming Valero Alamo Bowl matchup with the Washington Huskies.
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Murphy spent most of the season behind Ewers and Hudson Card, mostly operating the Longhorn scout team in weekly prep for opponents. But now with Card’s entrance into the transfer portal and Charles Wright‘s status unclear after missing a recent game due to illness, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian anointed Murphy as QB2 on Thursday morning at a charity event for the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.
“Early on in bowl prep, a lot of young guys are getting a lot of reps, as many opportunities as we can give them to prepare and to show the growth that they have,” Sarkisian said. “Maalik is a great example of the idea that now you’re the No. 2, what do you need to do? How do you need to do it? How do you go about your business? It’s a great opportunity for him.”
The third-string duties for most of the year went to Wright, who made three appearances versus Louisiana-Monroe, UTSA, and Oklahoma. He didn’t attempt a pass in all three games, mostly handing the ball off during mop-up duty. Murphy was added to the travel roster during the early-season stretch of games Ewers missed due to injury, but typically occupied the fourth spot on the depth chart.
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Even without playing a snap, Sarkisian praised Murphy, a former On3 Consensus four-star, in the middle of the 2022 season.
“I’ve been impressed with Maalik,” Sarkisian said in October. “He’s really starting to get healthy, and I just think this is great experience for him. He’s really growing into his own. I’ve been proud of him of working the way that he has.”
A member of Texas’ 2022 class, Murphy was rated as the No. 205 overall prospect, the No. 12 quarterback, and the No. 15 prospect in California according to the On3 Consensus.
