SC WR Murph Discusses Brown, Galloway, UNC Pros & More
Donovan Murph is a speedy wide receiver from the class of 2026 to watch that was recently offered by Lonnie Galloway to potentially become his position group at North Carolina.
From Irmo High School, a powerhouse program in Columbia, SC, the Tar Heels followed conference and several area rivals in offering the 6-foot-3, 180-pounder.
The transfer from Good Counsel near Washington, DC, recorded 1,084 yards and 17 touchdowns on 57 receptions this past fall, and since then, his recruitment has exploded.
UNC followed Penn State (Jan. 20), UNLV (Jan. 11), and South Carolina (Dec. 14) over the offseason, along with Charlotte, West Virginia, N.C. State, and Tennessee.
Murph, who visited NC State Coach Dave Doeren’s Wolfpack for two home games last season, is high on State, but it’s safe to say that Carolina may also play a factor in his recruitment. Murph spoke with THI about that and more:
THI: What is your reaction to the offer from UNC?
MURPH: “Man, it was just another dream come true. It was awesome. Everything is just coming together for me. I just (earned) an offer from South Carolina, so to get the offer from the Tar Heels was a great feeling as well.”
THI: How did the offer go down from the Tar Heels?
MURPH: “I set up the phone call through my high school head coach, Aaron Brand. I spoke to (Tar Heels’ wide receivers coach) Lonnie Galloway, and it was just a great conversation, man. (Galloway) is a great coach, and with the guys that he has put in the League, it was just ‘a dream,’ for real.”
THI: Based off your short conversation with Galloway, what was your first impression of coach off the field, and could you potentially see him as someone that you would want to play for as a person?
MURPH: “He sounds like a great coach and person, man. I could tell that (Galloway) knows what he is looking for (in regards to) the type of wide receivers he wants to bring into the program, and I could (sense) that (Galloway) wanted me to be part of that. I know he wants to continue ‘building that relationship’ with me.”
THI: What does it mean to you that UNC didn’t just ‘throw out’ an offer to you, instead taking their time to thoroughly scout you before making the news official, and how does it feel to you that the Tar Heels truly want you to become part of the program?
MURPH: “You know, that’s what I want from a lot of these schools, them ‘wanting me’ and not just myself wanting to go there. The offer means a lot because he actually wants me to become part of the program, where I could potentially come and make a true impact. And that offer just made me feel even better as a player. It makes me want to come up to even more and just visit and see everything that I like about the (it).
THI: What is your early impression of Hall of Fame head coach Mack Brown despite the fact that you haven’t yet had the opportunity to meet the legend?
MURPH: “I know that he has been coaching for a long time. He has been able to (get) victories against great teams with great talent. They beat South Carolina from the SEC in 2023, and he has coached guys like Drake Maye, who will be going to the league next year, along with Sam Howell, another great quarterback who is already in the NFL. You know that they are going to air the ball out. They’re (producing) great quarterbacks who are going to the NFL under him.”
THI: Based on your early phone call with Galloway, what makes you confident that the Tar Heels’ wide receivers coach would be a great coach on the field and positive role model off it?
MURPH: “Yeah man, of course he would be a great coach and leader. That’s proven that he has produced guys like Josh Downs and Dyami Brown. It’s just the ‘dudes’ he produces and the types of guys they are both on and off the field. I watched Downs, and I know he earned a degree from UNC, and that Downs was just such a great player on the field. I know if you just look at coach’s history, man, the track record of he has produced has been outstanding.”
THI: What does UNC’s prestige of producing NFL talent capable of playing on Sundays at the wide receiver position, particularly recently under Lonnie Galloway, say to you about the Tar Heels, and how does that impact your overall recruitment early?
MURPH: “It is very significant. (Going to the league) and ‘giving back to my family’ has been a goal of mine since I was a little guy. I also look at the guys they put into the league because I just want to become part of that ‘one percent’ in the future.”
THI: How does North Carolina’s high-flying, spread, pass-happy offense that has put multiple quarterbacks and wide receivers in the NFL in recent years and lit up ACC scoreboards of late play a factor in your recruitment overall early in the process?
MURPH: “Like I was saying before, the players they produce are first-round type of guys. So when I know I have a first round quarterback in the backfield and that the coaches are going to find a way to get the football to me in space. That is always the offense that I want to be part of.”
THI: What does Mack Brown’s prestige mean to you and your recruitment from the Tar Heels overall early in the process?
MURPH: “Yeah, man. You always want to look at head coaches from a relationship-building standpoint and how they can really connect with players. Like I said, the guys that he has been able to put in the league is major, and the resume that the staff has as coaches is just great to see, because you know those guys are going to put their best foot forward when it comes to developing their players. His resume as a coach stand out to me, especially all of the accomplishments that he has been able to put together at both UNC and Texas.”
THI: In regards to the UNC program, we talk about the campus, which one recruit compared to London, the facilities, and Chapel Hill as additional contributing factors that point in a positive direction towards prospects when being recruited by head coach Mack Brown and North Carolina. Which of those aspects stand out to you the most right now?
MURPH: “I haven’t visited campus, but I certainly plan to. But Jordan is my favorite shoes, so that’s another ‘plus sign’ for North Carolina. They say ‘look good, feel good, play good,’ and I’m certainly a believer in that. So Jordan is a great sponsorship for the Tar Heels to have for sure.”
THI: You may have not yet visited Kenan Memorial Stadium to witness a UNC game, but you said that you’ve watched the Tar Heels play at their home stadium on television before. With that being said, what is your early impression on the environment that Carolina has to offer up in Chapel Hill?
MURPH: “Oh man, I’ve definitely seen it before. It is certainly a nice baby blue is one of my favorite colors. Just seeing that stadium lit up at night with it is something different.”
THI: Donovan, you told us you attended UNC’s bout with South Carolina at Bank of America Stadium for the big, opening day SEC-ACC ‘Battle of the Carolinas’ clash between the Tar Heels and the Gamecocks back on opening day in early September. Can you recap the game and expand on your thoughts about the Heels’ goosebump-inducing sideline hype ‘coming together moment’ as a team before the start of the fourth quarter in Charlotte?
MURPH: “Sure. Just the fact that they were able to fill that stadium up says a lot about the support that both universities have. It was just a great overall game day experience, and (that aspect) just contributed a lot to the overall environment that night. I’m being recruited by both schools, so I got the ‘best of both worlds’ when it came to fan interaction. The way that the Tar Heels came together in the fourth quarter was great.
“I wasn’t surprised that the game started slow for both teams, considering that it was the first game for both teams. But seeing them rally together definitely stood out to me. It just proves how much of a unit those guys were. It showed how Coach Brown had those guys ready to play, especially the wide receivers, who really (came together at the end) and just came ready to play, overall. That’s just a testament to the hard work Coach Galloway puts in and how he prepares his guys.”