Texas transfer Maalik Murphy officially announced as Duke’s starting quarterback

After weeks of competition with Grayson Loftis for Duke’s starting quarterback job, Maalik Murphy was announced as the lead passer on Monday.

The Duke quarterback battle officially has its victor.

[autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag], the former Texas Longhorn who transferred into the program this winter, beat out returning sophomore [autotag]Grayson Loftis[/autotag] for the QB1 spot. The team announced the decision on Monday.

Murphy, who beat out five-star freshman Arch Manning for Texas’s backup job, started two games for the Longhorns last year in relief of Quinn Ewers. UT won both games, and Murphy threw for 477 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions.

A former four-star prospect out of high school, Murphy came to Duke as the highest-rated quarterback in school history. First-year head coach Manny Diaz didn’t just hand him the starting job, however. Murphy needed to beat out Loftis, who appeared in six games for the Blue Devils last season.

Loftis finished his freshman season with 1,006 yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions, notably pushing North Carolina and star quarterback Drake Maye to overtime with three passing touchdowns.

Diaz said at ACC Football Kickoff earlier this month that he felt the team believed in both options under center, and he said the program would wait to announce its starter until after scrimmages.

Murphy now gets the keys to the offense with his first game against Elon on August 30.