Maalik Murphy, who came from Texas, gets a job as starting quarterback at Duke

Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy has secured the starting spot for the Blue Devils and will start the opening game against Elon, new coach Manny Diaz announced on Monday.

Murphy is a transfer from Texas who won both games for the Longhorns last year (against BYU and Kansas State) and has thrown for 477 yards and three touchdowns this season.

Murphy beat out sophomore Grayson Loftis, who started five games for the Blue Devils in 2023 in place of injured quarterback Riley Leonard, who transferred to Notre Dame after the season.

“Maalik has earned the opportunity to be our starting quarterback with his preparation, work ethic and productivity,” Diaz said in announcing the decision. “I'm really happy for him because of how committed he has been to this team and this program.”

Murphy, 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, came to Texas as an ESPN No. 300 recruit for the class of 2022. He is a redshirt sophomore and has appeared in seven games in his career.

Murphy transferred to Duke in mid-December, making the difficult decision to leave the Longhorns before their College Football Playoff run — “I hate it, I hate it,” he said at the time — to find a school where he could secure a starting spot.

“I just want to be in a position where I can play,” Murphy said in December. “I don't want to wait around and see what happens or anything like that. I'd rather get my career going while I can.”

Murphy's recruitment to Duke was a stroke of luck for Diaz, who came from Penn State and immediately signed a quarterback with considerable talent and pedigree.

Murphy chose Duke from a list of applicants that also included Oregon State, South Carolina and Baylor.