Duke quarterback [autotag]Maalik Murphy[/autotag] has certainly left some plays on the table through his first three games in a Blue Devils uniform. However, according to Pro Football Focus, the former Texas Longhorn has countered those slumps with some of the best throws in the ACC.
Through Week 3 of the college football season, PFF credits Murphy with eight big-time throws. Among ACC starters, only Miami quarterback Cam Ward, one of the top contenders for the Heisman Trophy, has thrown more, and even he has only managed nine.
In all fairness, part of this stems from the fact that Murphy leads the conference with 122 passing attempts so far in 2024. After all, he’s needed to lead fourth-quarter comebacks in each of the past two weeks. However, even from a percentage standpoint, his big-time throw rate of 6.2% is still sixth among ACC quarterbacks.
Even the most frustrated Duke fans have gotten a taste of Murphy’s ceiling through non-conference play. He dropped a perfect pass in the bucket to Jordan Moore on the first overtime possession against Northwestern, a 25-yard strike on the opening play of the drive. He found Moore for a 45-yard play immediately against UConn, and his back-shoulder touchdown pass to Que’Sean Brown last Saturday might be his best play of the season.
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While questions remain about the efficiency of Duke’s downfield passing attack, Blue Devils fans should be satisfied in knowing that Murphy’s arm talent looks as advertised.