Steve Sarkisian Gets Honest About Maalik Murphy's Transfer Portal Departure

Former Texas Longhorns quarterback Maalik Murphy has been busy in the transfer portal the past two offseasons.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Maalik Murphy celebrates head coach Steve Sarkisian aftre the win over the BYU Cougars at Royal-Memorial Stadium on Saturday October 28, 2023. | Jay Janner/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

AUSTIN -- Former Texas Longhorns quarterback Maalik Murphy is set to play for his third program in three years this upcoming season after transferring to Oregon State after a career year at Duke.

Like many players in this era of college football, Murphy has on the unfortunate end of the stick when it comes to NIL and the transfer portal. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian wishes things could have played out differently for Murphy, who has been put in a tough position in back-to-back offseasons.

"Two years ago, we were in the College Football Playoff, and Maalik was our backup quarterback, and he felt like he had to go into the portal to solidify a position, because if he didn't go in, somebody else was going to take that spot," Sarkisian said Monday when speaking to the media after practice. "And that's a terrible position for a young man to be in. ... None of that makes sense to me. It didn't make sense to me then. It doesn't make sense to me now, but that's what we created."

Dec 2, 2023; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Maalik Murphy (6) in action during the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma State Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Instead of being able to backup Quinn Ewers in the CFP Semifinal against Washington, Murphy had to test the portal waters. This thrust Arch Manning into the QB2 role, who likely wouldn't have been ready to step into such a major spotlight if Ewers had gotten hurt in that loss to the Huskies.

Murphy played a crucial role in Texas' journey to the CFP in 2023, winning both of his starts over Kansas State and BYU while finishing the year 40 of 71 passing for 477 yards, three touchdowns and three picks.

This past season at Duke, he went 254 of 421 passing for 2,933 yards, 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while leading the team to a 9-3 record during the regular season.

Murphy admitted earlier this offseason that he didn't want to leave Duke. The arrival of Tulane transfer quarterback Darian Mensah, who reportedly signed a two-year, $8 million NIL deal with the Blue Devils, essentially forced Murphy to look for a starting job elsewhere.

"100 percent wasn't my choice to leave, I just had to take what it was and move on,"Murphy told reporters. "No hard feelings for how that situation went down, but it is what it is and I'm where I am now because of it, and I'm happy."

Murphy will now look to put together another productive year next season in Corvallis with the Beavers.