CHAPEL HILL – If anyone on North Carolina’s defense is primed for a huge season, the check list of most likely Tar Heels could, and maybe should, begin with junior defensive lineman Myles Murphy.
Murphy already turned in a big-time performance last fall, which led to him earning second-team All-ACC honors. But he is a strong candidate for much more this coming season. And the expectations for the level Murphy's game can grow isn’t limited to just his own thinking.
“He’s been the most dominant front guy,” UNC Coach Mack Brown said about Murphy toward the end of spring practice.
Murphy is confident, but balances his thought process with the understanding improvement is an absolute must. He is an NFL prospect for sure, but in the meantime, he wants to earn personal honors in college and help the Tar Heels meet some high standards.
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So, with a healthy awareness of self, it makes sense getting a scouting report on Murphy from Murphy.
“Right now, I’m really good at getting off pass blocks,” he said. “I'm trying to work on the physicality of the run plays, like two gapping, making plays outside of my gap, that’s what I really want to work on.”
Murphy has the ability to move around the defensive front. He is a rare player that can plug gaps, stop run plays, occupy multiple blockers, split double-teams, and get to the quarterback, and if he doesn't drap QBs to the ground, he can force them out of the pocket. It shouldn’t surprise anyone when he moves laterally to make a play near the sidelines. Murphy's bag is extensive.
Athletic. Strong. Quick. Bullish. Smart. Those are apt descriptions of the Greensboro native’s game. And, as noted, he’s an NFL prospect.
Darrell Moody, UNC’s senior advisor to the head coach, has as part of his duties the role of accumulating NFL information with the players. Moody and Murphy are in regular communication with each other.
“Coach Moody talks to me every day about that,” Murphy said. “He just talks about and tells me what the scouts say what I need to improve on. If my pad level is too high from doing this from and I got to fix that in practice and get used to it.”
Some mock drafts already looking at 2023, have Murphy as high as going in the middle of the second round. It appears the belief is he will leave aftrr this coming season, not after his senior year in 2024. Murphy isn’t discussing that, but it clearly marks his personal end game.
On the field last fall, the 6-foot-3, 300-pounder was second on the team with eight tackles for a loss of yardage, four of which were sacks. He was fifth on the defense with a 66.2 PFF rating for the season, and was credited with 26 STOPs, which are plays that result in failures for the opposing offense.
There isn’t an obvious weakness in Murphy’s game, so his quest for a higher level simply means moving the needle on every element of his game.
“I’m just trying to repeat what I did last year and go way beyond that,” he said, regarding his mission moving forward. “Since we got a new scheme, I should be able to wreak havoc even more what I did last year.”
In addition: “Get stronger and way faster, that’s it. Be stronger and way faster,” he said.
In the new scheme brought in by Gene Chizik, Murphy has settled into the three-technique role. He says his job is to get, “one-on-one with the guards, hopefully, I can make something happen.”
Murphy made a lot of things happen last season, and if he follows a natural progression, much more is expected this fall. And if his game balloons, something that wouldn’t surprise anyone inside the Kenan Football Center, Murphy has a chance to post massive numbers and generate a great deal of attention.
He could be UNC’s headline player on defense this fall.
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