Texas’ star player departs the club

Texas DT Byron Murphy makes departure from Longhorns, entry into 2024 NFL Draft official

Murphy had done everything up until Thursday except officially declare his resignation from the Longhorns in order to be eligible for the NFL Draft in 2024. Murphy did just that on Thursday, announcing his departure from the Forty Acres with a social media message.

Byron Murphy, a Texas defensive tackle, had done everything up until Thursday but officially declare his departure from the Longhorns in order to be eligible for the 2024 NFL Draft. Three days after Texas finished the 2023 season with a 37-31 Sugar Bowl loss to Washington in the College Football Playoff semifinals, Murphy issued a statement on social media officially ending his time on the Forty Acres while thanking defensive line coach Bo Davis, defensive graduate assistant Nico Johnson, and head coach Steve Sarkisian for their efforts in helping him develop into an All-American.

“First and foremost, I want to thank the University of Texas for an amazing three years,” Murphy wrote. “I would like to thank Coach Bo and Coach Nico for pushing me everyday [sic] to be the best player I can be and developing me as player [sic] and my character on and off the field.I would like to thank Coach Sark for allowing me to be a part of his program and giving me the opportunity to showcase my skill set on the highest stages of college football.

“With that being said I will be declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft.”

Murphy graduated from Texas in the spring before finishing his degree in sport management (education track) during the fall semester. Murphy has also accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl, one of the high-profile events preceding the draft, which begins on April 25 in Detroit.

Murphy is currently ranked by ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. as the No. 4 defensive lineman in the draft pool (Murphy’s Texas teammate, T’Vondre Sweat, is ranked second at the position by Kiper). Murphy was ranked by CBS Sports as the 19th-best defensive lineman eligible for the draft and the No. 201 overall draft prospect.

Murphy put together an outstanding season while helping the Longhorns win the Big 12 championship in the program’s final season as a member of the conference and advance to the CFP in the final season of the four-team format. The 6-foot-1-inch, 308-pound Murphy was named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press (an NCAA-recognized selector) and the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year by the Big 12 coaches, picking up first-team All-Big 12 honors and landing on nine other All-America teams as a second-team selection.

Murphy recorded 29 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, five sacks and a team-leading 10 quarterback hurries. Murphy’s 45 total pressures (according to Pro Football Focus) on the season are the fourth-most by an FBS defensive lineman and his 36 total hurries rank second in the nation.

A DeSoto product, Murphy teamed up with T’Vondre Sweat, the Outland Trophy winner and a unanimous All-American, to form arguably the top defensive tackle tandem in the country in 2023. The two highest-graded defensive linemen in the country, according to PFF, for the 2023 season are Murphy (91.1) and Sweat (91.5). (A PFF grade of 70 is considered average).

With Sweat and Murphy leading the way, Texas concluded the season with the second-best third-down defense in the FBS, the third-best run defense in the country, and a tie for seventh in red-zone defense. Davis and defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski will look to Vernon Broughton and Alfred Collins to lead the defensive line now that Murphy is gone and Sweat is out of eligibility.

Collins is set to return to school, according to Horns247’s Chip Brown, using the eligibility waiver he earned during the COVID-19 pandemic to play one more season. Meanwhile, Broughton has not hinted that he is considering quitting school with two seasons of eligibility remaining.