Clemson defender Myles Murphy opens up about decision to opt out of Orange Bowl
Myles Murphy was keeping his head down, locked in on finishing his junior season strong, when his parents approached him with a question: Was he playing in the Orange Bowl?
Murphy hadn’t considered opting out of his final Clemson football game before that moment, about a week before the Tigers played Tennessee in a top 10 matchup.
“That was really the first time I was like, ‘Oh, this is a legit question,’ ” Murphy said Tuesday at Clemson’s pro day. “I had a conversation with my parents, my family, my extended family, some of my teammates. I even went to some of my position coaches.
“And overall,” he said, “a lot of them just said it made sense. That’s the right move. That’s the move that makes sense right now. It made it easier for me to go forward with that.”
That’s how Murphy, a star junior defensive end who’s widely considered a first-round pick in next month’s NFL Draft, arrived at a historical decision: In mid-December, he became the first Clemson football player to opt out of a bowl game during coach Dabo Swinney’s tenure.
Bowl game opt-outs are a growing trend across college football for star players who feel like their NFL Draft position is already certain and want to preserve their health and/or get a head start on training for the NFL Scouting Combine.
Outside of Murphy, prominent players to opt out of 2023 bowl games included Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson, Kentucky quarterback Will Levis, Texas running back Bijan Robinson and Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt.
After announcing Murphy’s decision at a pre-Orange Bowl practice in December, Swinney said the conversation with Murphy was “easy” because the first-team All ACC is a “very deep guy” and someone who doesn’t make decisions on a whim.
“You get it, understand it, respect it, but you can agree to disagree and still love each other, right?” Swinney said. “I gave him my thoughts, and it’s his decision. It’s not my decision. So, his decision, high-five him, love him up, see you at the (end of season) banquet, you know?”
Murphy had an excellent 2022 season, racking up 40 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in 13 games (11 starts). The first-team All ACC selection was fully intending on making it 14 games and 12 starts by appearing against Tennessee.
“It was difficult even thinking about it,” Murphy said. “It was weird when I got on the phone with Coach Swinney and said it. It was a weird gut feeling.”
Even weirder, Murphy said, was watching Clemson’s 31-14 Orange Bowl loss to Tennessee from his grandparents’ house in the Atlanta area while “all my brothers, they’re out there playing the game that they love.”
Among Clemson’s other top NFL Draft targets, linebacker Trenton Simpson didn’t play in the Orange Bowl because of a short-term ankle injury and defensive tackle Bryan Bresee said he “never thought” about opting out of the Orange Bowl. (Bresee played and recorded two tackles, one tackle for loss and one sack.)
Murphy, the former No. 7 overall recruit in the class of 2020, finished his Clemson career with 139 tackles, 37 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, six forced fumbles and six pass breakups in 38 games and 27 starts.
Murphy and Louisville’s Yasir Abdullah were the only two Power Five college football players to record at least 35 tackles for loss and at least six forced fumbles across the 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons. He was also the only player in the country to record at least 10 tackles for loss and at least one forced fumble in each of those three seasons.
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah deems Murphy the No. 20 prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft and had Murphy going No. 6 overall to the Detroit Lions in a recent mock draft. ESPN’s Todd McShay had Murphy going No. 20 overall to the Seattle Seahawks in his most recent mock.
Murphy will hold a personal April 4 Pro Day after recovering from a tweaked hamstring that prevented him from running the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine or Clemson’s Pro Day. (His goal is 4.55 seconds or less.) And his opt-out, he said, was the right decision.
“I just know with my family backing me on my decision, they really did help me through that,” he said.
Clemson football 2023 Pro Day participants
- TE Davis Allen (NFL Combine participant)
- DT Bryan Bresee (NFL Combine participant)
- LB Jesiah Carlton (walk-on)
- DE K.J. Henry (NFL Combine participant)
- QB Hunter Johnson
- LB Keith Maguire
- OT Jordan McFadden (NFL Combine participant)
- DE Myles Murphy (NFL Combine participant)
- WR Joseph Ngata (NFL Combine participant)
- PK B.T. Potter (NFL Combine participant)
- TE Luke Price
- DL Jabriel Robinson (walk-on)
- CB Elijah Rodgers (walk-on)
- LB Trenton Simpson (NFL Combine participant)
This story was originally published March 14, 2023 at 1:59 PM with the headline "Clemson defender Myles Murphy opens up about decision to opt out of Orange Bowl."
