On Wednesday, quarterback Maalik Murphy made the decision to enter the transfer portal. He immediately will become one of the most sought-after players on the transfer portal market. We’ll take a look at Murphy’s upcoming visits and predict his potential landing spot.

Who is Maalik Murphy?

Maalik Murphy is a 6-foot-5, 238-pound redshirt freshman who served as the backup QB for the Texas Longhorns this season. He ranks as the fourth overall quarterback in the transfer portal according to 247Sports. When starting QB Quinn Ewers was hurt, Murphy started a pair of home games for Texas against BYU and Kansas State. In those games, he threw for 477 yards and three touchdowns. As a recruit, Murphy ranked as the 12th overall quarterback in the nation and the 13th best player in California according to the 247Sports Composite. He still has three years of eligibility remaining and plenty of potential.

Murphy’s decision to transfer from Texas isn’t surprising. Quinn Ewers hasn’t decided to enter the upcoming NFL Draft, and highly-coveted quarterback Arch Manning arrived on campus last cycle. But the timing of the announcement is surprising, since he won’t be suiting up for the Longhorns as they enter the Playoff. There are just 16 days this year between the opening of the transfer portal and the beginning of the early signing period. Many players like Murphy are forgoing their bowl games to find their new schools as quickly as possible so they can enroll for the upcoming semester and participate in spring practices. 

Upcoming Visits

Murphy locked in a trio of official visits to three schools you may not have expected. He’s set to visit Duke on Friday (Dec. 15), then Baylor on Saturday (Dec. 16) followed by Oregon State on Sunday (Dec. 17), according to 247’s Gregg Biggins.

Where Will Maalik Murphy Go?

I expected some bigger schools to secure a visit from Maalik Murphy, such as USC, Ohio State, or Florida State. It could still happen, but I’m expecting a very quick decision with the early signing period looming.

When looking at the state of these three programs, Duke seems like the best possible and most likely option for Maalik Murphy. The Blue Devils have stability with Mike Elko as head coach and a proven track record of success at the quarterback position with the emergence of Riley Leonard. Meanwhile, Oregon State lost head coach Jonathan Murphy to Michigan State, and Baylor’s Dave Aranda is on the hot seat after a 3-9 season.

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