SBHS linebacker Michael Murphy has all the physical tools to
play the position, but also grasps an understanding of the game
that sets him apart. He is The Weekend Pinnacle’s most outstanding
boys fall athlete.
HOLLISTER
Michael Murphy is built like a linebacker, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.
Standing 6-foot-1 and weighing 225 pounds, the San Benito middle linebacker swarmed to the football with almost reckless abandon this past season, and wreaked havoc on opposing offenses with crushing tackles.
He’s recently been clocked at 4.6 in the 40, which is only evidenced by the way he breaks to the corner on a sweep, while his 142 tackles in 13 games this season for the Balers — an average of 10.9 a game — was eighth overall in the Central Coast Section.
He has all the obvious physical tools needed for the position — that much is certain. But grasping a heightened sense and understanding of the game is what sets Murphy apart from the rest, head coach Chris Cameron said. He was one of the team’s captains this season, their leader on defense, and is The Weekend Pinnacle’s most outstanding boys fall athlete.
“I think his sense of the game, he was pretty much one step ahead,” Cameron said. “He was able to basically master the defense this year — get cued in real fast and get cued into the offensive formation.”
Receiving the defensive calls from the sideline, Murphy was able to relay the information to his teammates, then recognize the appropriate coverages and fronts and blitz packages — as well as what the offense was lined up in — all before the snap, before any actual football was even played.
“He was getting all the right calls, all the right checks,” Cameron said. “He sees this really fast and gets the defense lined up correctly and gives the defense the best possible chance against the offensive formation.”
It may not sound like much, being able to understand, comprehend, then regurgitate all the information back to the defense, but Murphy is blessed with a higher level of understanding for the game, Cameron said, while his sense of the game simply allows everyone else to just play football.
It didn’t come all at once, of course. Murphy held a similar position last season as a junior, when he recorded 93 tackles in 10 games for the Balers. But Cameron said he simply evolved into his defensive role this past season.
“It’s really difficult. You get about four seconds to do all that before the play,” Murphy said. “There’s six or seven things to do before the ball is snapped, and that’s very important information that I have to get to the defense for us to be successful.
“But it depends on the guys around you. If they know the defense, that makes your job easier.”
And fellow linebackers Robert Pinedo, Taylor Coustette, Isaak Ramos and Larry Mendoza, among a list of others, certainly helped make San Benito’s defense arguably the best in the area this past season, and one of the top units in the Central Coast Section.
The Balers allowed a Tri-County Athletic League-low 84 points this season, while the defense helped stir a return to the playoffs after a two-year absence. San Benito, which finished its season at 10-3, lost in the Division I championship to Milpitas.
“Everyone trusted each other and everyone knew we we’re gonna be there for each other,” Murphy said. “It’s a team effort. Having them on my side helped me out, just knowing that they were gonna be there.”
Said Cameron, “This year things really came together.”
This past spring, Murphy took track season off and instead hit the gym. He put on 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason and worked on his all-around speed, eventually leading to the 4.6 40-yard dash he ran at a combine in May. He was invited to an elite, top-300 position camp at Stanford in June, and is preparing to send out one final highlight film to colleges in the upcoming days.
“He plays to finish each play, whether it’s going after a fumble, chasing down the quarterback, or striking the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage,” Cameron said. “Whatever it was, he’s working on doing that.”
Murphy’s 142 tackles this season gave him 297 total tackles in 33 games for his high school career, an impressive number that positions him fourth at SBHS during the Cameron era, behind the tackling exploits of Allan Renz (301 in 39 games), Bryan Baxter (321 in 35 games) and Johnny Sanchez (360 in 37 games).
Murphy remains undecided as to where he’ll continue playing football next year, although he has received looks from North Dakota, Sacramento State and Minnesota State at Moorhead, where former Baler Tim Lango is currently playing and older brother Mike Lango is the defensive line coach.
Said Murphy, “It just depends on how much I want to work and how much I want to get better.”
