Report: Texas QB Maalik Murphy to enter transfer portal

Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy intends to enter the transfer portal, per a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Murphy, a redshirt freshman from Inglewood, Calif., appeared in seven games and started two for the Longhorns in 2023.

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Murphy was the backup quarterback behind Quinn Ewers this season. When Ewers was injured in October versus the Houston Cougars, Murphy stepped in for the remainder of that game and the two contests following against BYU and Kansas State. His play was up and down in those contests but the Longhorns emerged 3-0 from that stretch thanks to Murphy’s efforts.

IT MEMBERS ONLY: Note on Maalik Murphy

For the season, he was 40-for-71 with 477 yards and three touchdowns over three interceptions. During the Longhorns’ win over Texas Tech, Murphy sustained an injury when he was hit by two Texas players blocking a member of the Red Raider kickoff team out of the play. He recovered in time to play in the Big 12 Championship both in quick relief of Ewers and when the game was out of hand.

Murphy drew immense praise from Steve Sarkisian for sticking with the Longhorns and making the most of his opportunities, especially after Arch Manning arrived on campus and rumors of tampering swirled after Murphy’s strong Orange-White Game performance in April.

“He stayed because he wanted to be part of this team, and he wanted to make sure he had an opportunity to compete,” Sarkisian said after Texas’ win over BYU. “That’s what makes him special. I think that’s why our team really loves him so much. He loves his teammates. He’s a great teammate.”

A member of Texas’ 2022 class, Murphy was ranked as the No. 205 overall prospect, the No. 12 quarterback, and the No. 15 prospect in California in the On3 Industry Ranking.

Murphy will have three years to play three seasons at his next destination.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

Transfer portal background information

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.

Track transfer portal activity

While the NCAA transfer portal database is private, the On3 Network has streamlined the reporting process tracking player movement.

If you find yourself asking, ‘How can I track transfer portal activity?’ our well-established network of reporters and contacts across college athletics keeps you up to speed in several ways, from articles written about players as they enter and exit the transfer portal or find their new destination, to our social media channels, to the On3 Transfer Portal.

The transfer portal wire provides a real-time feed of player activity, including basic player profile information, transfer portal ranking and original On3 Industry recruiting ranking, as well as NIL valuation (name, image and likeness).

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.