Joel Klatt calls CFB transfer portal schedule “atrocious” as Texas key player plans to leave
The name Maalik Murphy stands out among the NCAA football transfer portal as a painful representation of the difficulties athletes encounter when negotiating the system.
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Klatt mentioned the timing and scheduling of the college football transfer site on a recent episode of The Joel Klatt Show. He brought up the terrible case of former Texas Longhorns backup quarterback Maalik Murphy, who was forced to withdraw from the team’s playoff run.
As the College Football Playoff looms, Murphy had to make a difficult decision due to a system that Klatt describes as “built so backward:”
“You have a backup quarterback for a College Football Playoff club who is a transfer candidate. He has no choice but to leave, and it’s not his fault. It’s because the system was designed backwards.”
Joel Klatt highlighted a dramatic contrast between the structure of the collegiate football system and that of its professional equivalent, the NFL, in which playoffs, free agency, and the draft all take place in sequence.
Klatt claims that the co-occurrence puts both programs and athletes in jeopardy. The former are frequently misinformed about the issue and are compelled to make rash decisions.
Klatt used the example of former Texas Longhorns backup quarterback Murphy to show this ridiculousness. Murphy finds himself in the transfer portal as his team prepares for the College Football Playoff. Klatt understood Murphy’s predicament:
“My heart goes out to Maalik Murphy. He has no desire to do this before the College Football Playoff, but the calendar in college football is so abysmal that the transfer portal’s awful timing forced his hand.”
I feel terrible for Maalik Murphy…There is no way that he wants to do this prior to the CFP, but the calendar in CFB is atrocious…The ridiculous timing of the XFR Portal forced his hand
— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) December 14, 2023
The unfortunate case of Maalik Murphy
Murphy’s path from four-star prospect to backup quarterback at Texas has taken an unexpected turn. Despite short playing experience, Murphy stands up as one of the transfer portal’s top quarterbacks.
His choice to enter the portal is linked to Texas’ highly competitive quarterback landscape, which includes the return of Quinn Ewers and the entrance of highly touted freshman Arch Manning.
Murphy emphasized a desire for playing time and ongoing progress when asked about his aspirations for a new team:
“I just want to be in a position to play.” I don’t want to be standing around waiting for something to happen. “I’d rather get my career started now.”
The road ahead for Maalik Murphy
As Murphy begins his path through the transfer portal, he has booked visits to Duke, Baylor, and Oregon State. These trips are critical as Murphy looks for a new home that matches his goals for playing time and improvement.
The sad result of this decision is Murphy’s absence from the Longhorns’ playoff run, emphasizing the difficulty of negotiating the transfer portal during critical team events.
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