Louis Murphy - The Comeback Kid
Saturday, August 30, 2008 | Football
By Kelly Reynolds, UF Communications
For Gator wide receiver Louis Murphy, the road to his senior-season debut against Hawaii hasn't exactly been easy. In fact, it's been a trip that has taken him through extreme highs and extreme lows, both on and off the football field throughout his last three years at the University of Florida.
However, the St. Petersburg, Fla., product, can find comfort in knowing that the rough trip is over for now. Murphy has a guardian angel watching over him and he's earned a spot as the go-to guy on the high-octane UF offense.
“It's hard for me to say he's not the go-to-guy,” Florida head coach Urban Meyer said of Murphy. “Of course, you've got Percy Harvin and Tim Tebow, two of the finest players in college football, but Louis Murphy is going to be the go-to-guy. He's expected to have a good year. We're really proud of him. Plus, he's just finished his classes. All he has left is an internship—he will graduate in three-and-a-half years.”
It's an impressive feat for a Division I college football player, especially for one that's overcome the adversity that “Murph” has.
Murphy, who joined the Gators as a freshman in 2005, struggled to establish himself as a standout wide receiver in a football program that boasts the best of the best. Murphy recorded no touches his freshman campaign, seeing limited time on special teams and only running five wideout sets on the season. In 2006, he once again ran through the rigorous motions of a college football player, still battling to differentiate himself as a key asset to the UF offense.
“There are people who say I should have redshirted,” Murphy said, “but being out there in The Swamp with 90,000 people and the game going fast, there's no substitute for that experience.”
During his sophomore season in 2006, when UF captured the program's second national championship and collected its seventh Southeastern Conference crown, Murphy reeled in two receptions for 42 yards and one touchdown. These numbers weren't good enough for the frustrated Murphy and even wide receivers' coach Billy Gonzales saw that he needed a boost. Gonzales encouraged Murphy to move in with fellow wide receiver Andre “Bubba” Caldwell, who Gonzales identified as a positive role model that could help Murphy mature and develop a sense of leadership that would carry onto the football field.
"Coach Gonzales encouraged me to move in with Bubba,” Murphy said. “He wanted me to be around him because he saw something in me that he could get out. I just want to thank Bubba for being there for me. Especially during those down times when I felt that I couldn't go anymore, he was always there to pick me up.''
Picking Murph up didn't only mean picking up his football spirits and bringing out the best on the field, it meant supporting him through trying times off the football field as well.
In his senior year of high school, Murph's mother Filomena, “Mina,” was diagnosed with breast cancer. As if that wasn't a constant worry his first two years at UF, Mina was diagnosed with bone cancer in December of 2006, an additional weight that Murphy was carrying with him every day.
Rooming with Caldwell was the start of a turnaround for Murphy during the spring of 2007 and with the support of Bubba, his father, Louis, Sr., the minister of Mt. Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church in St. Petersburg, and his sister Chiriga, Murph started to come full circle. Displaying a renewed passion as a football player and a new persona at the 2007 Orange and Blue game, Murph caught eight passes for 129 yards and one touchdown, quadruple the receptions of his entire collegiate career and three times his career yardage.
“He's becoming a man,” Gonzales said during the spring of 2007. “He's maturing and is the perfect example of someone who's committed to change his ways.”
Murphy's positive change projected on the field last season, when he played in all 13 games, with 10 starts, racking up 39 receptions for 590 yards and six touchdowns. Murphy recorded a career-long grab of 66 yards from quarterback Tim Tebow against Kentucky, Florida's longest pass play in the 2007 campaign, while reeling in a career-best six catches against Troy.
“I don't know if I've ever coached a guy who has changed so much,” Meyer said last season, “His seriousness, his attention to detail, the way he takes care of his body like a professional athlete, the respect he has for his family have all grown tremendously.”
While Murphy's football life came full circle, he suffered an emotional letdown following his successful 2007 season when Mina, Murph's “heart,” passed away on Valentine's Day after her four-year bout with cancer. When Meyer heard the news of Mina's passing, he joined Murphy in St. Petersburg, while all 105 of his teammates attended her memorial service at Mount Zion. Although Murph had the opportunity to tell her he loved her and goodbye, the hurt still lingers today.
"I just know that she's here with me," Murphy said. "I know that she's never going to leave me and that I have a guardian angel."
As Murphy opens the 2008 season as the leader of the wide receivers, a go-to-guy for the Gators, he knows that his mother will have the best seat in The Swamp looking down from above. Murphy is at peace and he's looking forward to another stellar season, not only for himself and his family, but for the football family that's helped him come full circle. He'll also play for Mina, and honor her by pointing to the sky following each touchdown this season.
“There's not a guy that I can remember in 20 years that's made such a significant turnaround,” Meyer concluded. “Watch what happens with Louis Murphy in the next 20 years. He's going to be successful. I think he's going to play pro football some day.”
-UF-
