Twelve days after Gevani McCoy entered his name into the transfer portal, the Beavers secured a highly touted quarterback from Duke University, Maalik Murphy, on Thursday morning.
Murphy was the fourth-highest-rated quarterback in the transfer portal and now becomes a Beaver with two years of eligibility remaining.
“(It) felt like a great opportunity, and I really felt welcomed and wanted there. I was made a priority and that’s all I could ask for. I’m excited to be a Beaver and get out there with the guys,” Murphy said to ESPN’s Pete Thamel via X.
Starting his career at Texas, he found little success being a backup to starter Quinn Ewers and transferred to Duke after just one season. After securing the starting job, he led the Blue Devils to a 9-3 record, their best since 2013.
Murphy is a pocket quarterback, not known for using his legs. He threw for 2,933 yards this past season, which placed him 23rd in the nation, along with 26 touchdowns, tying him 13th in the nation. Both of these were school records at Duke. He will need to work on his accuracy though, as he accounted for 12 interceptions, with six of those coming in two games.
“I’ve got a ton of respect for Maalik Murphy,” Duke head coach Manny Diaz said on Murphy’s transfer, according to On3. “Our story as a program, it doesn’t happen this way without Maalik. He’s been everything we could have hoped for and more in his time with us. I’m excited for him and his future and I’m glad we were part of each other’s story.”
With Murphy’s limited ability to run, he is skilled at escaping the defense, only taking 12 sacks on the season. To put that into retrospect, Shedeur Sanders, a projected first-round NFL draft pick, fell in the pocket 38 times.
The 4-star transfer is 11-3 as a starter in his career, and the best transfer the Beavers have signed since DJ Uiagalelei. He chose the Beavers over both Auburn and Kentucky, which he visited prior.
A surprise addition, Murphy will hope to bring back the winning ways to Corvallis before the new Pac-12 officially goes underway starting in 2026.