Shawn Murphy

The son of former Atlanta Braves baseball star, Dale Murphy, Shawn Murphy has quietly made a name for himself. He found a home at offensive guard for the Aggies in 2007, receiving one of the top blocking-consistency grades of any player at his position in the collegiate ranks. Even more impressive was the fact that his senior season was just his second year playing on the offensive line. At Lone Peak High School, Murphy was a second-team All-State and All-Region selection as a defensive end. He lettered three times on the gridiron, twice leading his team in quarterback sacks. Following his bloodlines, he also competed on the baseball team. Murphy's college career began in 2001, when he played defensive end at Ricks College, starting three of 12 contests. He did not attend school from 2002-04, spending two of those years serving on a church mission to Brazil. He returned to the United States and the gridiron in 2005, lettering at Dixie State Community College. He converted to the offensive line, as one tackle that was part of an unit that averaged 345.8 yards per game, as the front wall allowed 31 quarterback sacks en route to a Rotary Bowl invitation. Murphy transferred to Utah State in 2006. He played in all 12 games as a left offensive tackle for the Aggies. It was a learning experience for the youngster, as the team struggled to a 1-11 record. The offense managed just 254.4 yards per game, but the front wall began to jell, as that unit allowed just 19 quarterback sacks on 298 pass plays. As a senior, Murphy received All-American honorable mention and All-Western Athletic Conference second-team recognition. He again shifted positions, this time moving to left offensive guard. Even though the offense managed 277.9 yards per game and the line gave up 30 sacks and 12 pressures, Murphy graded 84.3 percent for blocking consistency, as he totaled 137 knockdowns and saw just one sack come over his area. After the season, Murphy was invited to play in the East-West Shrine Game, becoming the first USU offensive lineman to play in that game since center Tim Ruiz in 1986. "It's a great honor and I'm excited to be given the chance to play with guys from around the country," Murphy said. "I'm excited about the chance to show that I can play with those guys and hang with them." "I had no idea no other Utah State lineman has been selected in that long of time, it's pretty amazing given all the great lineman that have come through Utah State," Murphy said in reference to being the first Aggie lineman since Ruiz. "It's a great testament to (offensive lineman) Coach (Vance) Vice. Considering I came in as a defensive lineman and I was pretty rough around the edges, Coach Vice did a tremendous job of molding and shaping me into the offensive lineman I am now. I watch game film from last year even and it's embarrassing how rough I was." "We're very proud of what Shawn's accomplished in a short time," head coach Brent Guy said. "I think the thing that really attributes to his ability is that he played tackle his first year for us and then we moved him to guard this year. Obviously he has shown a lot of potential there because of the type of recognition he's getting and especially from the attention from the scouts."

positives

Naturally strong with an even-proportioned frame, long arms, big hands and room to carry at least another 15 pounds of bulk without having the added weight impact his timed speed...Plays with good effort and desire and is the type that brings the same effort to practice as he does on game day...Sometimes trains too hard and is a bit of a perfectionist, but takes well to hard coaching and has the ability to take plays from the chalk board to the field with minimal reps...Builds his acceleration nicely on the move, but needs to keep his pads down for better effectiveness (struggles to adjust on the move when he is too tall in his stance)...Developed a better feel for using his hands as a senior, but still must shoot them with more force...Uses his frame well to lean into and shove the interior defenders when trying to widen the rush lane...Has valid foot quickness in his retreat and slide to protect the pocket (much better working in-line than at tackle)...Has become more aware of defensive coverage and developed good chip-blocking skills...Gets into his blocks quickly when he keeps his pad level down and can generate the sudden movement needed to gain advantage...Not overpowering, but has learned to roll his hips, punch and deliver a blow with quicker recoil than he showed as a junior...With his hand jolt, if he uses it consistently, he can get movement off the snap...Works with good effort to stay in front of the defender, showing the functional flexibility to gain inside position...Doesn't roll over people as a run blocker, but strikes with good leverage and pad level...Has good wall-off ability, working hard to follow through and finish off the drive (when he plays too high, he will lose leverage)...Moves well on the short pulls and is becoming more alert to locating and landing on targets when pulling on screens...Can turn it up better when working inside with contact on the move...Will whiff at times in the open field (when his balance is affected by a high stance), but showed better ability to stay up on his blocks as a senior, as he is developing a better feel for taking angles...Sets quickly with good knee bend and a wide base in pass protection, as he seems to have better adjustment skills to double moves at guard than he did at tackle (plays better in closed quarters than on an island)...Has better balance now in his slide than in 2006...Needs to use his hands better to control without holding too much, but he is starting to gain more confidence in his punch...When he plays flat-footed, he is better at adjusting with his lateral slide and change of direction agility.

compares to

JUSTIN SMILEY-Miami...Murphy seems to be a better fit at guard and struggles when isolated on the edge at tackle. He has good power, but at this stage, he prefers to beat his man with finesse. He has decent short-area quickness for pulls and traps. Despite his timed speed, he loses balance when he narrows his base going long distances. He still is quite raw around the edges and is an over-aged prospect. He has the tools to develop into a starter in a few years. He just needs patient coaching to help him unearth his talent and is a nice late second-day project.

negatives

Has a soft midsection and also needs to add more muscle definition to his lower-body frame...Older than most prospects, as he will be 26 years old during the course of the 2008 season...Improved his upper-body strength, but must work on shooting his hands with more pop on contact...Tireless worker in the training room, but sometimes overdoes it...Has good foot speed, but when playing on the edge at tackle, he struggled to slide and maintain position vs. the speedier edge rushers and is much more effective playing in-line, as he lacks the loose hips to make wheel blocks or play out on an island at tackle...Has improved his balance on the move, but he will lose body control and narrow his base at times, as he tends to get too tall on his stance when having to pull or trap long distances...Good position blocker, but must keep his hands more active in attempts to lock on and control...Made marked improvement in recognizing twists and games as a senior, but as a junior, he was slow to pick up on stunts...Is still learning the technique of his position, but needs to improve his ability to recognize and combat counter moves (sometimes dips his outside shoulder and ducks his head on contact, letting the defender play off his block).

1998: Suffered a right elbow fracture.

Campus: 5.11 in the 40-yard dash

440-pound bench press

535-pound squat

27-inch vertical jump

4.44 20-yard shuttle

7.37 three-cone drill

32 1/2-inch arm length

9 5/8-inch hands

Right-handed

32/39 Wonderlic score. AGILITY TESTS Combine: 5.4 in the 40-yard dash

1.89 10-yard dash

3.09 20-yard dash

4.89 20-yard shuttle

7.74 three-cone drill

21.5-inch vertical jump

8'4" broad jump

Bench pressed 225 pounds 29 times.

Attended Lone Peak (Highland, Ut.) High School, playing football for head coach Monte Morgan

Second-team All-State and All-Region selection as a defensive end

Lettered three times on the gridiron, twice leading his team in quarterback sacks

Also competed on the school's baseball team.

English major

Son of Nancy and Dale Murphy

Father was a seven-time All-Star first baseman and outfielder for the Atlanta Braves (1976-90) and was the fifth overall pick of the 1974 draft as a catcher. He also played for Philadelphia and Colorado before ending his career in 1993

Born 12/17/82 in Atlanta, Georgia

Resides in Alpine, Utah.