[VIDEO] Why Manny Diaz believes Murphy is a ‘good fit’ for Duke

Duke head coach Manny Diaz announced on Monday, August 19th that redshirt sophomore Maalik Murphy is the Blue Devils’ starting quarterback to open the 2024 season.

“First and foremost, all of our quarterbacks have been impressive and made really good strides since we opened practice last month,” Diaz said. “Maalik has earned the opportunity to be our starting quarterback with his preparation, work ethic and productivity. I’m really excited for him because of his investment into this team and this program. And we’re really fortunate to have two young men in the room who have won games here at Duke. Both Henry (Belin IV) and Grayson (Loftis) will continue to prepare like starters and push Maalik, and we’ve got confidence in their abilities to lead our offense.”

A native of Inglewood, Calif., Murphy joined the Blue Devils in January as a transfer after spending his first two seasons at the University of Texas. He played in seven career games, making two starts, for the Longhorns and finished 40-of-71 (.563) passing for 477 yards with three touchdowns against three interceptions. Additionally, he registered five passes of 20-plus yards, including a career-high 47-yard pass and 37-yard touchdown pass against Kansas State in 2023. With Murphy as the starting quarterback during the 2023 season, the Longhorns went 2-0 with victories over BYU and Kansas State.

Murphy met with the media on Wednesday to discuss how his quarterback battle went and why after a self-reflect period, he believes he can make a difference in the Duke offense. The new Duke starting quarterback credited the other QBs in the position room for pushing him and helping him be a better person and player.

Other members of the quarterback group include redshirt sophomore Belin IV, graduate student Cole Kennon, sophomore Loftis, graduate student Rent Montie and sophomore Donald Tomlin.

Belin IV played in four games a season ago, starting in Duke’s 24-3 win over N.C. State in Week Six. Loftis started the final five games of the 2023 campaign and led the Blue Devils to victories over Wake Forest, Pittsburgh and Troy in the Birmingham Bowl.

Duke’s 2024 season opener is slated for Friday, August 30 when it welcomes Elon to Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.