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Trent Murphy
DE/OLB
Height: 6'5", Weight: 250 lbs
Stanford
Trent Murphy was a fifth year senior for the Stanford Cardinal in the 2013 season. After a red-shirt freshman year and an injury shortened sophomore season, he improved his numbers in tackles, tackles-for-loss, sacks, forced fumbles, and passes defended every year:
|
Year |
Team |
Tackles |
TFL |
Sacks |
FF |
PD |
|
2010 |
Stanford |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
2011 |
Stanford |
40 |
10 |
6.5 |
0 |
1 |
|
2012 |
Stanford |
56 |
18 |
10 |
1 |
4 |
|
2013 |
Stanford |
62 |
23.5 |
15 |
2 |
6 |
At his Combine workout, Trent checked in at 6' 5" and 250 lbs. He has a 33 7/8" wingspan. His 40-yard dash time was 4.86 seconds and he had a 35 ½" vertical leap. He also did 19 reps on the bench press.
Trent Murphy did not start his college career as an OLB, he began it as a steer wrestler. He talked about that to Sports Illustrated in 2013.
"You're running full speed [on a horse] at the steer, and you drop onto the steer's head, place one hand under the jaw, one under the horn, twist his head to stop his momentum, and he falls onto his back," said Trent. "It's definitely a dangerous, dangerous sport (Mandel, 2013)."
He uses that mentality when he hits the field. He has been quoted as saying "I put my hand [on] the ground, get my hips up in the air and it's like I'm going hunting, I'm going after something. There's an end point I'm trying to get to, and there's someone trying to stop me. It's man versus man. It's my favorite thing to do (Mandel, 2013)."
He has been one of the most consistent players on a talented Stanford Cardinal team. But he's not exactly a fit at any one position in particular. He doesn't have the muscular frame needed to be on the line, and he is not as fast as many linebackers. However what Murphy does have is the intelligence and meanness desired by coaches.
This in-between status puts Murphy in an unusual place. The Redskins already have two OLB's firmly in place in Orakpo and Kerrigan. So if the Skins are using this pick for the future of the franchise, which of these two will be leaving? Can Murphy bulk up and get faster to take the place of Kerrigan or Orakpo? He's got heart, but will that be enough for him to transition to the NFL? Murphy seems to be an experiment for the Redskins. But can they afford to experiment when they have more pressing needs?