Sources: QB Murphy transferring from UT to Duke
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Former Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy has committed to transfer to Duke, sources told ESPN.
Murphy’s commitment is expected to formally emerge in the next 24 hours, sources said. Murphy’s pledge will give Duke and first-year coach Manny Diaz a linchpin building block, as Murphy emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the NCAA transfer portal this offseason.
Murphy is a 6-foot-5, 238-pound redshirt freshman who brings high-end arm talent to the position. He’ll be immediately eligible and has three seasons remaining.
Murphy, ESPN’s No. 250 overall player in the class of 2022, is the highest-ranked quarterback and sixth highest ranked overall player that Duke football has received a commitment from since ESPN began ranking players in 2006, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Murphy won both of the games he started for Texas this season as a redshirt freshman, beating both BYU and Kansas State. Murphy threw for 477 yards and three touchdowns on the season, as he served as Texas’s primary back-up behind Quinn Ewers and ahead of freshman Arch Manning.
In speaking to ESPN the night he entered the NCAA transfer portal Dec. 13, Murphy said that he prioritized opportunity at his next destination.
“A place where I can play,” he told ESPN last week when asked what he’s looking for in a school. “Continue to get better and continue to be around great people and great players. And just do what’s best for me and my career.”
Duke’s starting job opened up when star quarterback Riley Leonard decided to commit to Notre Dame. Leonard entered the NCAA transfer portal soon after coach Mike Elko took the Texas A&M job.
If Murphy returned to Texas, he’d have likely continued to back up Ewers, who has yet to declare he’s returning to Texas in 2024 but that remains the prevailing thought in his circle. Murphy’s decision to transfer means he won’t be with Texas for the College Football Playoff, as he prioritized the opportunity to find a school and secure his future.
“I just want to be in a position where I can play,” Murphy told ESPN last week. “Where I can get a chance to play. I don’t want to be waiting around and see what happens or anything like that. I’d rather kickstart my career while I can.”
That will happen at Duke, as Murphy is expected to enroll in January and immediately compete for the starting job. And his arrival will coincide with the arrival of Diaz, the decorated former Penn State defensive coordinator who previously served as the head coach at Miami.
Sources told ESPN that Murphy spent a lot of time discussing what Duke’s offense would look like with new offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer, the former SMU quarterback coach. He’s expected to install a similar offense that SMU ran under Rhett Lashlee. While Diaz was at Miami as both the defensive coordinator and head coach, Lashlee worked as the offensive coordinator in 2020 and 2021.
Murphy was ESPN’s No. 12 pocket passer in the class of 2022. He visited both South Carolina and Oregon State after entering the NCAA transfer portal.
New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton will miss the remainder of the regular season and “possibly” the playoffs due to a lower-body injury, general manager Tom Fitzgerald said.
When pressed if Hamilton could return if the Devils reach the second round of the postseason, Fitzgerald wasn’t too optimistic on Wednesday.
“We’re not planning on it, how’s that?” Fitzgerald said during an appearance on the “Krackin’ Canuckleheads” podcast.
Hamilton has been sidelined since he was tangled up with Stars forward Mason Marchment in the first period of a 4-3 loss to Dallas on March 4.
Hamilton, 31, has 40 points (nine goals, 31 assists) in 63 games this season. He is competing in the fourth campaign of his seven-year, $63 million contract.
Hamilton has totaled 501 points (151 goals, 350 assists) in 834 career games with the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes and Devils.
Hamilton was selected by the Bruins with the ninth overall pick of the 2011 NHL draft.
Rafael Devers told reporters Thursday that he’s “good to do whatever” the Boston Red Sox want him to do, an indication that he’s willing to move away from third base and serve as the team’s designated hitter this season.
A switch of roles didn’t seem likely last month, when Devers balked at the idea at moving to DH in the wake of Boston signing Alex Bregman.
“Third base is my position,” Devers said then.
But the three-time All-Star said Thursday that he spoke with manager Alex Cora and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow a few weeks ago and told them “I’m good to do whatever they want me to do.
“I’m here to help,” he said through his interpreter, according to The Athletic. “I’ve already spoken with them about that and they know where I stand, but I’m just ready to play.
“I’m not going to share what we talked about here just because it would make me come off … those are private conversations. So I told them everything of my point of view, how I see things, and they know that.”
Devers has yet to appear in an official spring training game for Boston. It was supposed to happen Tuesday but got pushed back to this weekend. He battled soreness in both of his shoulders last season and spent the first couple of weeks of spring training trying to strengthen them ahead of the regular season.
He did play in an intrasquad game Thursday in Fort Myers, Florida, before he spoke with the media, and had a home run off new Red Sox starter Walker Buehler.
Asked if he expects to be ready for Opening Day against the Rangers on March 27 in Texas, Devers said: “I expect to be there.”
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