Louis Morris Murphy Jr. (born May 11, 1987) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

wide receiver. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, where he was a member of two BCS National Championship teams. The

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

drafted him in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL Draft, and he has also played for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

, and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...

Early years

Murphy was born in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1987,Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Louis Murphy
Retrieved May 8, 2011. of mixed Samoan and African-American descent. As a teenager, he completed the requirements to be an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...

.GatorZone.com, Football History, 2008 Roster
Louis Murphy
. Retrieved March 31, 2011. Murphy attended Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg, where he played for the Lakewood Spartans high school football team. In addition to playing quarterback and wide receiver for the Spartans football team, he was also a power forward for the basketball team, and anchored the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay events for the track team—winning the state championship as a sophomore, with times of 41.59 seconds and 3:24.07 minutes, respectively. Following his senior football season in 2005, he was ranked as the thirty-seventh best wide receiver in the country by Rivals.com.

College career

Murphy accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played wide receiver for coach Urban Meyer's

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division o ...

team from

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 74, 81, 85, 103, 125, 184 (2011). Retrieved August 31, 2011. As a freshman in 2005, he mostly played on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. During his sophomore season in 2006, he didn't play much, but he did score his first touchdown

reception Reception is a noun form of ''receiving'', or ''to receive'' something, such as art, experience, information, people, products, or vehicles. It may refer to: Astrology * Reception (astrology), when a planet is located in a sign ruled by another ...

from freshman quarterback Tim Tebow against the LSU Tigers. Murphy earned a spot on the 2007 starting roster during spring practice, and became one of the top receivers on the team. After the end of the regular season, he had 36 catches for 544 yards and five touchdowns. As a senior team captain in 2008, Murphy led the team in receiving yards (655) and ranked second in receptions (38) and average receiving yards per game (46.8), averaging 17.2 yards per catch; he was also the recipient of the Gators' Fergie Ferguson Award. He surpassed the 1,000 career-receiving yards mark with 54 yards in the Gators' victory over South Carolina. Murphy extended his streak of consecutive games with a reception to twenty-seven, and scored his final college touchdown on a 20-yard pass in the first quarter of the Gators' 24–14 BCS National Championship Game victory over the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early part ...

. Murphy had knee surgery following the season. Murphy also competed for the Florida Gators men's track and field team, posting a personal best of 6.36 seconds in the

55 meters 55 metres is a sprint event in track and field. It is a relatively uncommon non-championship event for indoor track and field. The history of the event lies in the 60-yard dash, which is about 5 inches shorter than 55 metres. Since the 1960s almos ...

. He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in 2008.

Professional career

Oakland Raiders (2009–2011)

Murphy was chosen in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the

, and he played for the Raiders from through .National Football League, Current Players
Louis Murphy
Retrieved May 9, 2011. He made his NFL debut on

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, ...

against the San Diego Chargers on September 14, 2009, and caught a 56-yard touchdown pass from

JaMarcus Russell JaMarcus Trenell Russell (born August 9, 1985) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons with the Oakland Raiders. Highly successful at LSU, where he was MVP of the 2007 Sugar ...

. In 2009, Murphy caught a touchdown pass that helped the Raiders overcome the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

. Later in 2009, Murphy again led his team to a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers by grabbing an 11-yard touchdown pass from Bruce Gradkowski with twenty-five, seconds left in the game that put the Raiders up 27–24. Murphy's role in the offense decreased over time seeing time as a rotational player in the Raiders offense.

Carolina Panthers (2012)

On July 23, 2012, Murphy was traded to the

. With the Panthers, he recorded 25 receptions for 336 yards and one touchdown. It was his second season in which he played all 16 games.

New York Giants (2013)

On March 16, 2013, Murphy signed a one-year contract with the

. Giants general manager

Jerry Reese Jerry Reese (born July 22, 1963) is a former American football executive, player, and coach. He was a member of the New York Giants for 23 years, serving as their general manager from 2007 to 2017 where he won two Super Bowls. He was inducted in ...

, said, "I think he's going to add another dimension to our offense. We have a scout named Jeremiah Davis and he talks about guys being a knife. This guy is a knife. This guy can take the top off your defense. He's an interesting guy. He gives us a different dimension in our offense. If we have the same guys, if we have Hakeem Nicks back healthy and we have Victor Cruz, back, this guy gives you a deep threat that we haven't had. We haven't had a guy who can run like this guy."

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2014–2016)

On March 26, 2014, Murphy signed with the

. They released him the day before the season opener on September 6, 2014, to make room for rookie Brandon Dixon. He was re-signed September 23 and played against the Steelers on September 28 (including a crucial 41-yard reception on the Bucs' final drive leading to a touchdown and a win). At the conclusion of the 2014 season, Murphy proved to be valuable as a third receiver, primarily in the slot. Despite some injuries and issues with the team's low-scoring offense, Murphy compiled 31 catches for 308 yards and two touchdowns. On December 26, 2014, Murphy signed a three-year contract extension with Tampa Bay through the 2017 season. He was placed on the team's injured reserve on October 27, 2015 after suffering a torn ACL. Murphy began the 2016 season on PUP to continue his recovery from his torn ACL. He sustained another injury while practicing in an attempt to return in 2016 and was released from PUP on November 29, 2016.

San Francisco 49ers (2017)

On July 31, 2017, Murphy signed with the

. He was released on September 1, 2017. He was re-signed by the 49ers on November 6, 2017. On November 26, 2017, Murphy caught his first touchdown pass on the season from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who also threw his first touchdown pass as a 49er since being traded from the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

Personal life

Murphy is cousins with former

running back

Mike Gillislee Michael B. Gillislee Jr. (born November 1, 1990) is a former American football running back. He played college football for the University of Florida. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Early years G ...

. On April 12, 2017, Murphy was arrested for having possession of a loaded gun at the Tampa International Airport. A Glock 23 pistol was discovered in Murphy's backpack, loaded with 11 round of ammunition. Murphy did not have a concealed weapons permit, and was released from jail on a $2,000 bond.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). .

External links

Florida Gators bio

Oakland Raiders bio

Tampa Bay Buccaners bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Louis 1987 births Living people Players of American football from St. Petersburg, Florida American football wide receivers American sportspeople of Samoan descent African-American players of American football Carolina Panthers players Florida Gators football players Florida Gators men's track and field athletes American male sprinters Track and field athletes from Florida Track and field athletes in the National Football League New York Giants players Oakland Raiders players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players San Francisco 49ers players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people