| Tyler Murphy | |
| Number: | 16 |
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Birth Date: | January 12, 1992 |
| Birth Place: | Wethersfield, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 2 |
| Weight Lbs: | 213 |
| High School: | Wethersfield (CT) |
| College: | Florida (2010–2013) Boston College (2014) |
| Undraftedyear: | 2015 |
| Pastteams: | |
| Statlabel1: | Receptions |
| Statvalue1: | 1 |
| Statlabel2: | Receiving yards |
| Statvalue2: | 16 |
Tyler Murphy (born January 12, 1992) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Florida and Boston College.
Murphy attended Wethersfield High School, where he was a two-sport star in football and track. He did not have a very good junior season and was not on the radar for any Division I colleges. His senior year, he had a breakout year and threw for over 1,000 yards and rushed for over 1,000 yards.
Also a standout track & field athlete, Murphy was one of the state's top performers in both sprinting and jumping events. He recorded a personal-best time of 37.12 seconds in the 300-meter dash at the 2010 Yale T&F Classic, where he placed 12th.[1] At the 2010 CCC North Outdoor T&F Championships, he captured two state titles, winning the triple jump, with a leap of 15.53 meters (50 ft, 7 in), and the high jump, with a leap of 1.84 meters (6 ft), while also anchoring the Wethersfield 4 × 400 m relay squad, helping them take silver with a time of 3:24.69 minutes.[2] In addition, Murphy also competed as a middle-distance runner and decathlete, recording career-best times of 1:26.20 minutes in the 600-meter run, 2:00.24 minutes in the 800-meter run and 2:38.33 minutes in the 1000-meter run.[3]
Regarded only as a two-star prospect by Rivals.com, Murphy signed to Florida on February 3, 2010.
Murphy joined the Florida Gators football team in 2010 as a freshman, but did not attempt a pass as a Florida Gator until the 2013 season. During a loss to the Miami Hurricanes in the Gators' second game of the 2013 season, Murphy unsuccessfully attempted a two-point conversion pass. In their following game, against the Tennessee Volunteers, the Gators starting quarterback Jeff Driskel broke his leg in the first quarter. Murphy came in and started the next six games, while Driskel was lost for the season. Before Driskel's injury, Tyler Murphy was unknown, but quickly became popular as he led Florida in a 31–17 win over Tennessee. Murphy then became the starting quarterback, and lead the Gators to a 24–7 win over Kentucky and a 30–10 victory against the Arkansas Razorbacks. After initial success, the Florida Gators lost their final seven games of the 2013 season.
During the Gators' homecoming loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores, Murphy injured his shoulder, and redshirt freshman quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg played in Florida's final three games. The 2013 Florida Gators team finished 4–8, marking their first losing record since 1979 and the first time since 1990 that they didn't play in a bowl. Murphy wore the number three on his jersey, and as the Florida quarterback, became known for his ability to run with the football.
After the poor 2013 season, Murphy became one of several Gators players who chose to transfer from Florida to a different school. He transferred to Boston College in January 2014.[4] Steve Addazio, coach of the Eagles and former Florida Offensive Coordinator, named him the team's starting quarterback after the school's annual Spring game, which served as a tryout for Murphy as well as the other, younger quarterbacks on the team.[5]
Murphy immediately flourished at Boston College; his ability as a running quarterback fit in perfectly with Addazio's rush-heavy offense. Over the season, Murphy led the team to a 7–6 record, highlighted by an upset victory over #9 USC in October, a game in which Murphy ran for 191 yards. He broke the school record for rushing yards by a quarterback (both single-season and career), passing Doug Flutie in only nine games. In the final game of the season against Syracuse, he broke the ACC single-season rushing record by a QB with 1,079 yards gained.
After his lone season at Boston College, Murphy was no longer eligible to play in the FBS. He participated in a pre-draft visit with the Pittsburgh Steelers coordinated by agent Nik Visger and was thought to be a possible late round pick. After ultimately going undrafted, he was signed as an undrafted free agent to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Although Murphy played quarterback in college, he was developed into a wide receiver by the Steelers. Pittsburgh has had a noted history of developing college quarterbacks into successful wide receivers, like former players Hines Ward, Kordell Stewart, and Antwaan Randle El. Murphy was released by the Steelers on September 23, 2015[6] and re-signed to the practice squad the following day.[7]
On October 24, 2015, Murphy was activated from the practice squad to the main roster in order to play backup quarterback to Landry Jones in the Week 7 contest against the Kansas City Chiefs, in spite of Murphy's ongoing transition to the wide receiver position. This was due to injuries to starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and backup Michael Vick.
On November 4, 2015, Pittsburgh Steelers released wide receiver Murphy upon promoting cornerback Doran Grant to their active roster.
On January 26, 2016, Murphy signed a futures contract with the Miami Dolphins.[8] On August 6, 2016, Murphy reached an injury settlement with the Miami Dolphins.[9] He is now a free agent.