When Maalik Murphy announced his planned transfer from Texas last December, even his announcement came with a tinge of regret. It was clear the move was done out of necessity for playing time, not lack of passion for burnt orange.
If there was any question that might wane now that Murphy plays for Duke, he made that clear in a recent interview from ACC Media Days, as relayed by On3 Sports.
“Definitely, definitely, definitely. I can’t wait,” Maalik Murphy said of watching Texas from afar this year. “We have a lot of Friday games this year, so hopefully they don’t play on Fridays like we do and I’m able to watch them and follow them on Saturdays. So definitely my boys. There’s a couple of guys on the team I talk to every single day still. So I’m excited for them.
“It was great. It was great. (Texas' quarterbacks) are my guys ‘til this day. I just talked to Quinn last week. I talked to Arch the week before that. We stay in touch and I love those guys. At the end of the day I want to see them succeed. I want to see them win. And hopefully we get to meet up at the end of it all.”
That reference to, 'at the end of it all,' is clearly a reference to either a College Football Playoff appearance for both schools or, more likely, a time in the future when all three are on NFL rosters. That may not be as much of a stretch as it seems, given Ewers' performance, Murphy's measurables, and Manning's potential and growth trajectory.
For now, all three will have to take comfort in the knowledge that all three are pulling hard for each other, even when they're in different time zones.
