Missouri Tigers: Will Marcus Murphy Switch Positions?
By Ben Brown
When most people think of Marcus Murphy, his electrifying returns and screen passes are usually the first thing to come to mind.
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His speed and agility are becoming a big mismatch for teams going up against the tigers this year. His 10 touchdowns in 2013 were second on the team only trailing Henry Josey and Dorial Green-Beckham, and that was as a back up running back.
The biggest problem is that Marcus Murphy is too small to take the beating of an every down back and even though his return game is special, he currently doesn’t have too good of an outlook to get to play every down on Sundays.
Tiger coaches think they may have found a way.
The 5’9, 195-pound senior is going to start catching passes in the slot.
In my evaluation, the Tigers look at him almost in a “Dexter McCluster” role, with him being both able to come out of the backfield and catch passes in the slot. He will be an offensive weapon.
McCluster, the former Swiss Army knife at Ole Miss, was drafted in the 2nd round (36th overall) of the 2010 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Dexter McCluster is a model player for a guy who switched from full time running back to a multi-use back and slot receiver and made the transition in the NFL.
Let’s all hope Murphy’s senior season can match McCluster’s. McCluster’s last season in the SEC involved rushing for 1,169 yards and eight touchdowns as well as 520 yards through the air with, 3 receiving touchdowns. Those numbers aren’t even counting his returning statistics.
If Murphy can become the playmaker we all think he can be, he most definitely will carve out a place for himself on an NFL roster. The question is, will a team see the value in him like they did McCluster? Is he worth a pick in the first couple rounds? Murphy will have this season to prove why he is.