KSU’s Murphy ready to prove himself as QB1

Jonathan Murphy has had to wait his turn.

When Murphy came to Kennesaw State in 2019, he was the third on the quarterback depth chart behind starter Daniel David and Tommy Bryant. In the abbreviated spring 2021 season, Murphy was Bryant’s backup.

Now, Murphy is expected to be the starter heading into the fall season, provided he can hold off Xavier Shepherd. Both have seen practice reps with the first team during practice, leading up to Thursday’s season opener against Reinhardt at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.

“It’s just a blessing,” Murphy said. “When I first came here three years ago, (I’ve) been learning and growing. It’s me taking on a whole new experience on a whole different coast. Just finally being able to be named the tip of the spear, I’m ready to lead my guys.”

The Los Angeles native, who came to Kennesaw from Long Beach City College, was pressed into service late in his first season as an Owl after injuries to David and Bryant.

In the opening round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs against No. 11 Wofford, Murphy ran for a Big South Conference quarterback record of 206 yards and three touchdowns in Kennesaw State’s 28-21 win. The next week, he had the Owls in position to pull the upset of No. 4 Weber State, running for 106 yards and a touchdown while completing a touchdown pass in a 26-20 loss.

Murphy finished his debut season with 420 rushing yards and five touchdowns.

This past spring, Murphy took over for an injured Bryant again. In three games, including two starts, he threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns and added 174 yards and two scores on the ground.

Murphy was named the Big South Player of the Week after leading the Owls to a 24-19 victory over Charleston Southern. He threw for 108 yards and two touchdowns, while running for 113 yards and a score.

This season, Murphy said he is focusing on working on his leadership skills.

“Leadership — just because usually (with) me being here, being a backup sitting behind (David), sitting behind Tommy, I usually didn’t have to be that main leader,” Murphy said. “Now, (I’m focused) on me being the guy, (being) more outspoken, you know, going to talk to my teammates a lot more.”

On the field, Murphy said the offense is working to execute better.

“Our main focus over the summer and during camp was to maintain the execution even when we are tired,” he said, “so I think that’s been (a) main point for us overall.”

Murphy is confident and he said that the team’s cohesion has benefited from not having to deal with the strict COVID-19 restrictions they dealt with last year.

“Everything feels different with us just being able to have team meals together or just sitting in the same room without having to be spaced out,” Murphy said. “Just being together, that helps build team cohesion, just wanting to play for the guy next to you, so that’s always a plus.

“We’ve been working. We feel like we’ve got a good setup this year, got a lot of the right pieces, so we have to make sure everything falls in place for us.”