Murphy Primed For a Comeback In Bloomington

Written by Amanda Pavelka (@amandapavelka3)

Hailing from the tiny town of Campbellsburg, Indiana Caleb Murphy joined six other freshman signees for spring football in January. For the typical freshman, coming a semester early is a kick start to their college career. For Murphy, it was fuel for what will be the 6-foot-4, 260 pound defensive end’s comeback. 

Last summer before his senior season, the 3-star defensive lineman shattered his collarbone. In his season opener at West Washington High School, he re-injured his collarbone and underwent season-ending surgery as a result. His arrival to Bloomington was a long-awaited moment to get back to playing the sport he loves, while fulfilling his dream of stepping onto the field as a scholarship player at his dream school— Indiana University.

“I’m 100 percent. That was a big motivator for me coming early was to get back to where I was before the injury,” Murphy said. “I’m feeling really strong, the collarbone is healed. I’m cleared for contact, working out as hard as I can, and I’m in a really good spot.”

Murphy brings to Bloomington experience on both sides of the ball, on both the offensive and defensive lines. As a junior, he totaled 84 tackles, 11 for loss earning him Indiana Coaches Association All-State Selection honors. Those were his last recorded stats— from 2018. 

“All of our favorite part of football is actually getting to play so when you miss the first season you’ve ever missed, you definitely miss the game a lot,” Murphy said. “It’s something that’s really exciting coming into spring football.”

As far as how Murphy will used with his multi-positional talents has yet to be defined, but in the spring practices Hoosier Huddle attended he took his reps at defensive end. 

“For right now, I’m going to be spending most of my time on the defensive line, but anything can change,” Murphy said. “I’m willing to play whatever they need me to play to make the team better.”