Profiles In Terpage – A Countdown To The Football Season: Clarence Murphy
By petevolk
A recurring series where we will profile every player and coach on Maryland’s roster, counting down to kick-off against Miami. Thanks to OBNUG for the idea.
Today we profile one of the surprise starters on Maryland’s defensive line.
Clarence Murphy, Freshman (RS), Defensive End
Stats:
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 240
Ratings: Three stars, #94 in Florida by Rivals; three stars, #84 defensive end by Scout; three stars, #92 defensive end by ESPN
40-yard dash time: 4.8
High School Stats (senior season): 75 tackles, 12 sacks, three deflected passes
High School: Hollywood Hills High School (Hollywood, Fla.)
How’d He Get To College Park?
Clarence Murphy was thought to be a package deal with star teammate and cornerback Tony Grimes coming out of high school, and there was a time where it looked like they would go to Michigan together. However, Murphy committed to Maryland thanks to Don Brown, and Grimes ended up at Ole Miss. Now, Murphy is the starting defensive end for Maryland, and Grimes is nowhere to be found on the Rebels’ depth chart. Funny how these things can turn.
Murphy chose Maryland because they were the first big school to recruit him, and he soon became very comfortable with Don Brown and Dave Sollazzo, who naturally are no longer in the program. Other schools to offer the defensive linemen included Michigan, South Florida, and Wisconsin.
After his great senior season, in which he led Broward County in sacks, he was named first team all-County and played in the 2010 USA vs. The World game. He is also a super hero:
"“We had an incident where a car overturned in a canal,” [coach Scott] Barnwell said. “[Murphy] was with me and helped me rescue a baby and two people trapped in the car. There was a 2-year old in the car seat. The door had broken through and the car seat became wedged. On the other side, there was a lady unconscious in the water. It was kind of a nightmare — I can’t even tell you. But [Murphy] completely ripped the car door right off that was trapped. I don’t know how he did it, but he did it. It’s a wonderful thing that he did. That’s the kind of kid [Maryland is] getting in the program.”"
More after the jump.
Nickname:
Clarence “Big Man” Murphy. Too soon? Alright. We’ll just call his side of the line “Murph’s Turph”.
Career Highlight:
Being named as the starter after spring practice.
Career Lowlight:
Not ending up at the same school as Grimes.
Arbitrary Top Seven List:
#1 albums from Bruce Springsteen:
1. The River
2. Born in the U.S.A.
3. Tunnel of Love
4. The Rising
5. Devils & Dust
6. Magic
7. Working on a Dream
Dream season:
Murphy keeps his starting job all year, holding down the edge and recording at least five tackles for a loss.
Nightmare season:
Murphy loses his starting job to Isaiah Ross and falls behind Bradley Johnson in backup defensive end playing time.
2011 prospectus:
Clarence Murphy overtook Isaiah Ross (who ended up moving to ROCK) on the depth chart at defensive end, becoming one of three members of the class of 2010 to already claim a starting job on Maryland’s defensive line.
Murphy’s strengths come in his size and strength, and he’s a great run stopper off the edge. Like Maryland’s defensive ends last year, don’t count on him for a lot of sacks, but he will be extremely beneficial to the rush defense. Currently behind Murphy on the depth chart on defensive end are Bradley Johnson and Ian Evans, but neither are the biggest threat to take his job. That honor goes to Ross, who should challenge Murphy throughout the year.
Honestly, we don’t know much about Murphy. He wasn’t one of the more hyped up members of the 2010 class, and he spent last year as a redshirt and without much fanfare from the coaches. All we know is that he’s a big, strong defensive end who is good against the rush and played well enough this spring to win the starting job without a down of college experience.
Up Next:
Our next player also played well enough this spring to win a starting job on the defensive line without a down of college experience.