Myles Murphy talks Orange Bowl opt-out, his NFL draft process

Myles Murphy played his last game for the Tigers in the ACC title win.

by Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Thu Mar 16 06:00:17 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON - Defensive end Myles Murphy is one of the top players coming out of Clemson for the NFL draft, but he was unable to participate in Clemson’s Pro Day this week due to injury. That day to impress NFL scouts and coaches will instead come at his own workout on April 4. Still, he has met with a number of NFL teams and will continue to do so.

“Every conversation’s been a good conversation. (They) just really wanted to get to know my background, my personality and really getting to know each other,” Murphy said.

Murphy played his last game for Clemson in the ACC Championship against North Carolina on December 3, 2022. As many fans probably remember, he opted out of the Orange Bowl because of his decision to go pro and prepare for the NFL's combine and draft. He became the first player under Dabo Swinney to opt-out of a game, and he came to that decision by consulting a number of people close to him.

“Really, I wasn’t even thinking of opting out until about a week before the game because I was just, you know, keeping my head down, working and then it was, you know, (my) parents came up to me with a thought and just like, ‘Are you thinking about playing in the Orange Bowl or opting out the Orange Bowl?’ and that was really the first time I was like, ‘Oh, this is a legit question,’” Murphy said. “And you know, I had a conversation with my parents, family, extended family, some of my teammates. I went to some of my position coaches and, you know, a lot of them overall just said, ‘It makes sense. That’s the right move. That’s the move that makes sense right now.’ And they made it easy for me to go forward with that decision.”

Even though Murphy is projected by many NFL analysts to be a top-10 pick, including NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah who projects him at No. 6 overall going to the Detroit Lions, he still feels he has a lot to prove. Primarily, this relates to his speed. He wanted to be able to run his 40-yard dash at 100%, which is why he did not participate at Clemson Pro Day.

“A lot of people, they see the speed that’s on the field, but I don’t think a lot of that speed is really recognized as far as what it actually is,” Murphy said.

He did not run the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine either, but he did bench 25 reps at 225 pounds each. Further, Murphy had the opportunity to meet with a number of NFL teams. He is really enjoying the process of getting to meet with these teams and getting to know them.

“I’m in a better body. I feel great, feel fast, feel strong,” Murphy said. “When I first got (to the NFL Combine), I had 11 interviews back to back. It was a lot at first but honestly, the entire process, I’m just enjoying it, having fun.”

His personal workout on April 4th will feature NFL scouts and coaches from a number of teams, although he did not say what teams. This will probably include the Saints, since he has an interview with them on April 14th. At the moment, Murphy does not know all of the drills that he will do because that depends on what the attendees want him to do.

“There’s going to be scouts, coaches flying in,” Murphy said. “So, if there’s something that they want, with the L-Drill, 5-10-5, position-specific drills, I’m going to be doing whatever they want to see and I’m going to be showcasing that.”