2020 In-State DE Caleb Murphy Commits To Dream School In IU
Class of 2020 Campbellsburg (Ind.) West Washington Caleb Murphy's only expectations going into Saturday's mega camp at Indiana was perform to the best of his abilities and not worry about those he was competing against.
The mindset clearly worked.
Murphy came out of the weekend with a committable scholarship offer extended by IU head coach Tom Allen and gave his verbal pledge to the Hoosiers Tuesday night.
"You definitely want something big to come out of opportunities like that, but expectation-wise, I didn't have any expectation other than I knew I was going to go up there and do the best I could in front of the coaches I wanted to play for," Murphy told TheHoosier.com Tuesday night. "It's definitely a process that's a blessing, it's incredible, but at the same time, it can get tiring in the long run. It's really great to be able to know that I'm going to the school of my dreams and that I can focus on my senior year of high school football now and do the best I can for the team I'm already a part of, and then know after that, I'm going to get to be a part of a phenomenal college program."
This past weekend's camp experience wasn't the first time Murphy visited IU, having made a couple unofficial trips previously for a spring practice in April and a Junior Day in early March.
"I've always heard the same feedback that they really like my character, and, talking to my head coach, who I was as a person," Murphy said. "I perform well in the classroom and that's something I'm excited to hold true when I get to go to college. They knew I was a kid of high character and they knew I was kid that loved IU football and wanted to be a part of that program. And sometimes you want to take a kid that loves your program more than a kid that might a little more athletic but would rather be somewhere else, you know?"
Murphy plays both defensive end and offensive tackle for West Washington. Indiana is recruiting him as an athlete and hasn't pegged him at one position just yet.
"That's still undecided (as far as my position goes)," Murphy said. "What Coach Allen said to me on the phone is that they were going to offer me as a heavy athlete, so basically once I got to college, he said at the start I'd probably be with the d-line. If it were something where I could play tight end or switch to offensive line or stay at d-line, then they would be able to do any of those things."
In addition to Indiana, Murphy also held offers from Ball State, Indiana State, Harvard, Eastern Kentucky, Columbia, Air Force, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Dartmouth, Bowling Green, Toledo, Kent State, Western Michigan, Ohio, Western Illinois and Central Michigan.
He effectively chose IU over Ball State and Northern Illinois, two programs he said he also admired a lot and stood out because of the faith they showed in him by offering him early in the recruiting process.
With his college decision now out of the way, he can shift his focus to summer workouts and preparing for his senior season at West Washington.
"It's incredible knowing that I can give all that I want to give to my high school program for my senior year, but also know that I have a great college football program that I'm going to be going to after," Murphy said.
As a junior, Murphy helped West Washington to a 9-3 overall record and Class 1A sectional championship appearance.
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