Tyler Murphy elects to transfer

The seventh and perhaps the most surprising Gator has informed head coach Will Muschamp that he will transfer away from the University of Florida. A day after walking across the stage and receiving his diploma, quarterback Tyler Murphy met with Will Muschamp and told him that he will not return for his fifth season in orange and blue.

Murphy took over early on against Tennessee this season after Jeff Driskel broke his leg in the first half. A career backup, Murphy had a year of firsts in 2013: his  first start, completion and touchdown pass to name a few. Murphy got off to a good start with five touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns in his first three games but he hurt his shoulder against LSU and was ineffective the rest of the way.

For the season, Murphy was 112-185 passing for 1,216 yards, six touchdowns and five interceptions. His best game was against Tennessee when he threw for 134 yards and a touchdown and ran the ball for 84 yards and another score.

With Max Staver’s transfer already announced, and Will Muschamp declaring an “open competition” at the quarterback position, the news of his transfer comes as a surprise. On the surface it would seem that Murphy was in the running to win the starting job outright, with the worst case scenario being that he would once again back up a quarterback with an extensive injury history. Rather than find a graduate program at Florida and finish out his eligibility, Murphy will find another school and will be eligible to play in 2014.

The loss of Murphy leaves the Gators with just two — soon to be three — scholarship quarterbacks left on the roster. Jeff Driskel and Skyler Mornhinweg are those and will be joined by freshman Will Grier this spring. Florida does have three walk-on quarterbacks in Jacob Guy, Ryan McGriff and Chris Wilkes available.

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC

2 COMMENTS

  1. Since Jeff Driskel is now the quarterback, what happens if he doesn’t recover from his injury, doesn’t pick up the new offense, or is the same player he’s always been? The pro team in Jax finally figured out their touted prospect, Gabbert, can’t play. If Driskel is the same as Gabbert, what happens to the offense?