Portal Sting: Duke Football Star Maalik Murphy Looks Elsewhere

After leading Duke football to its first nine-win regular season since 2014, redshirt sophomore quarterback Maalik Murphy is entering the transfer portal, ESPN's Pete Thamel first reported late Monday night.

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The 20-year-old Murphy, who hails from Inglewood, Calif., and transferred to Duke this year following two seasons primarily spent in a backup role at Texas, was a four-star prospect in high school. He finished No. 179 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite.

And as one of the all-time most hyped new Duke football starters under center, the 6-foot-5, 230-pounder shined to the tune of 2,933 yards through the air on a 254-for-421 passing clip (60.3 percent).

Murphy's celebrated arm delivered a program-record 26 touchdowns, capped off with a walk-off 39-yard strike to Jordan Moore in the Blue Devils' regular season finale at Wake Forest on Nov. 30. He also threw 12 interceptions but added two scores to his tally on the ground.

Seeking only the second 10-win campaign in program history, first-year Duke football head coach Manny Diaz and whichever of his Blue Devils (9-3, 5-3 ACC) ultimately remain on board will square off against the No. 14-ranked Ole Miss Rebels (9-3, 5-3 SEC) at the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., on Thursday, Jan. 2, at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN).

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