Walking into the large, narrow, overflowing room at Saguaro High School early Thursday afternoon one would have never guessed Byron Murphy’s college decision was up in the air until just a few hours before making it official.
Looks can certainly be deceiving.
“I couldn’t sleep at night,” Murphy said moments after donning a purple hat with a gold “W” across the front. “It was the hardest decision of my life. I just want to say thank you to all the schools that recruited me.”
One of those schools who pushed hard, for one of if not the state’s top recruit, was Arizona State. Two of Murphy’s close friends, Chandler High’s Chase Lucas and N’Keal Harry, both committed to ASU. Some close to the situation believed the two-way star would join Lucas and Harry to form a ‘Tempe Trio’ for Todd Graham.
Ultimately he felt Washington made the most sense.
“The whole time they told me to do the right choice for me,” Murphy said of his recent chats with Lucas and Harry. “They supported me the whole way through this.”
Murphy, who will play cornerback for head coach Chris Petersen, said UW may feature him in some offensive sets. The dynamic playmaker eclipsed 150 catches, 3000 yards and scored 34 touchdowns his final two seasons at Saguaro.
“He’s a baller,” Sabercat head coach Jason Mohns said. “If you’ve got a guy that can make plays [offensively] you may have some packages…to get him on the field. He’s fully happy going up and playing wherever the coaches need him.”
Murphy, who may walk-on and play basketball for the Dawgs as well, also strongly considered Texas A&M and USC.
Eric Sorenson
