With sophomore quarterback Quinn Ewers out recovering from a shoulder injury, redshirt freshman quarterback Maalik Murphy will be perfectly fine to lead Texas in Ewers’ absence.
Murphy’s laid-back personality has allowed him to gain the trust of the locker room both on and off the field. Described by his teammates as easy to be around, they all have faith that he can be successful in leading Texas football.
He took the field against Houston with a smile on his face and led Texas on a game-winning drive. Against Houston, he only threw two passes, completing one to senior wide receiver Jordan Whittington for a gain of 10 yards.
“He’s just a confident person,” said junior wide receiver Xavier Worthy. “Maalik’s super calm. If you saw his face (against Houston), he had a smile on his face. That’s just Maalik.”
Murphy not only has confidence on the field but also in the locker room.
“The whole locker room loves him,” said sophomore defensive back Michael Taffe. “I think everybody in the locker room would say that they have a personal connection with Maalik, and that’s really cool.”
His confidence and composure are the perfect combination to bring Texas football to victory. Head coach Steve Sarkisian has just as much trust in Murphy as the rest of the team.
“The guys like playing with Maalik and inevitably, as a quarterback, you’re only as good as the guys around you,” Sarkisian said. “And when (they) play well around you that makes your job a lot easier.”
The rest of the offense is more than ready to play with Murphy and has all of the keys for him to successfully beat BYU.
Murphy, who is listed at 6 feet, 5 inches, stands taller than any of the other Texas quarterbacks. Over the summer, a photo of the Texas quarterbacks after a lift session went viral on social media, with Murphy’s physique gaining the most attention. In the photo, Murphy’s bicep looks to be about the size of Ewers’ head and the passes he throws back up his arm strength.
Worthy will play with any quarterback, and with Worthy’s speed and Murphy’s arm, the pair has the potential to be a lethal duo.
“I feel like any one of our quarterbacks could come in and step up and fill that role,” Worthy said. “I feel like the bond in (the quarterback) room and the relationship they all have, the competitive nature they all have, if one of them isn’t playing the other can step right up.”
As a backup quarterback, Murphy may struggle at first, but Worthy and the rest of the offense are ready to rally around him to make his job as easy as possible.
“I feel like just the veterans of the offense have to step up and just rally behind them and just support him through it all,” Worthy said. “(We need to) get rid of all the mental errors, just little things, do everything right to make him feel comfortable and give him confidence.”
In practice, Worthy has the same chemistry with Murphy that he does with Ewers. While Worthy said that the chemistry will translate to games, it’s up to Murphy to prove himself on Saturday.
“Maalik has always been ready for the role just in case, God forbid anything happened, and it happened,” Worthy said. “I feel like he’s ready for that role.”
