Former Hoosier Safety Mark Murphy Wins Big Ten Award for Sportsmanship

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Even though former Hoosier safety Mark Murphy hasn't put on an IU football jersey in half a year, he is still winning awards and making Hoosier Nation proud. On Wednesday, the Big Ten announced their annual winners for the Outstanding Sportsmanship Award. Two student athletes from each of the schools in the conference were named honorees. Mark Murphy and Nakel McClinton (Outdoor Track and Field) were Indiana's recipients. According to the Big Ten release "all of the Sportsmanship Award winners have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, these honorees must be in good academic standing and must have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting".

The Ohio native was a consistent contributor in the Indiana secondary and finished his career with 279 tackles (174 solo), seven tackles for loss, four interceptions, two INT touchdown returns and nine pass breakups. He started 11 games as a senior and finished the season with 49 tackles (2.5 TFLs), two INTs and one touchdown. Murphy was a four-time game captain and was named IU’s Defensive Player of the Week for his performances against Penn State and Missouri.