How Texas man Byron Murphy grew up a Seahawks fan — and how high his rookie-year goals are
Finally, Byron Murphy was among friends.
For almost all of his 21 years growing up in his native Texas until Thursday, he was mostly alone in his choice of favorite NFL teams.
He was born, grew up and went to high school in the Dallas suburb of DeSoto. Pretty much everyone he knew rooted for the hometown Cowboys.
Same thing when he played at the University of Texas, a few hours down the interstate in Austin.
Not Murphy. He’s always loved ... the Seattle Seahawks?
“I know it sounds a little funny. I get the question a lot: ‘How come you didn’t like the Cowboys?’” Murphy said. “But in my household everybody disliked the Cowboys for some reason.
“But, being a Seahawks fan just growing up, first, I just fell in love with the Legion of Boom, the guys, just the way they played on defense. Guys like Kam Chancellor, Bobby Wagner, Michael Bennett, all those guys, Richard Sherman. And just seeing how those guys play on defense, the way they just set the tone and go out there and just the way they play, that’s something I wanted to be a part of.
“And also, too, growing up, I was a huge fan of Russell Wilson. I loved Russell Wilson as a kid, watching those guys go out there and just dominate their opponent and win a Super Bowl. It was crazy.”
So was Thursday. Murphy, the man-child defensive tackle who was 250 pounds by 10th grade in DeSoto, the second defensive player picked in the NFL draft last week, was holding his new, blue Seahawks jersey with new number 91 on it inside the team’s headquarters.
Murphy’s arm tattoo beneath his new Seahawks gear reads: “Humble Beast.”
He arrived with seven other new draft picks, about 15 undrafted and signed free agents plus a handful of tryout players for Seattle’s three-day rookie minicamp this weekend.
“It’s a dream come true,” he said.
Murphy even opposed his mother with his Seahawks fandom growing up. Seneca Murphy liked Peyton Manning and was rooting for the legendary quarterback and his Broncos in Super Bowl 48 a decade ago. Then-11-year-old Byron taunted Mom throughout the Seahawks’ blowout of Denver in that Feb. 2014 title game.
It’s still Seattle’s only NFL championship.
“That’s one of my goals. I’m trying to win games and bring a Super Bowl here, as well,” Byron Murphy said.
His goals for his rookie season, in particular?
“First, I want to win. That’s my main goal,” he said. “Secondly, hopefully I’ll be able to win Defensive Rookie of the Year.”
Byron Murphy ‘blessed’
Seahawks general manager John Schneider and coach Mike Macdonald smiled while introducing their rookie first-round pick to Seattle for the first time Thursday.
“To be able to select Byron with the 16th pick, it was quite stressful, I’ve got to tell you,” Schneider said, turning to his new defensive tackle. “But I can’t tell you how excited everybody is to have you here.
“On behalf of (team chair) Jody Allen, our family here in the building at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center and all the 12s, we want to welcome you.”
Murphy, in turn, introduced his mother, his father Byron Sr., and his girlfriend Maya Hurd — “future wife,” he said — to the dozens of reporters and Seahawks staff members inside the team’s main auditorium meeting room.
“Really just blessed to be here,” Murphy said.
“I’m going to give everything I’ve got each and every day, 110%.”
The 6-foot and 1/2-inch, 297-pound Murphy turned to his new coach, Macdonald, and to his GM, Schneider, seated next to him on each side.
“I just want to say thanks to both of you guys for trusting in me, believing in me and picking me to be part of this team and everything. It really means a lot,” Murphy said.
“It’s a dream come true. Just blessed to be here.”
The Seahawks also feel blessed — that the first 14 picks in the draft last week were offensive players. That pushed Murphy, the highest-rated and most disruptive defensive tackle in this draft, down to Seattle with the 16th pick.
“It was kind of like a game of Plinko on ‘The Price is Right,’ just trying to have everything slot out to work our way,” Macdonald said Thursday. “And when it became evident Byron was going to be our guy, it was just really exciting in the room.”
Macdonald said the night they drafted Murphy the Seahawks intend to use him and recently re-signed, $64 million tackle Leonard Williams the same way in 2024. That is, up and down the defensive line in different spots, almost by the down. A three-technique tackle between the guard and offensive tackle on one play, over the center as a nose or outside as a hybrid end the next.
“That’s one of the reasons I’m so excited about it, is you’re not going to know where guys are going to necessarily be all the time,” Macdonald said. “We’ll have some really sweet ways to move guys around and have ‘em in different spots based on the teams we’re going to play.
“A lot of flexibility going in. A lot of pass-rush opportunities, match-ups, things we can manipulate. All that’s on the table.”
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How about running back?
That’s what Murphy was from 6 years old, when he played against 9- and 10-year-olds, through his freshman year at DeSoto High School.
What does he remember about being 6 and playing football for the first time, against guys four years older?
“I just remember, really, dominating.,” he said.
Mom and Dad laughed at that from the front row of the auditorium.
“I just remember scoring three, four touchdowns a game,” he said. “But it was crazy, 6, 7 years old going against 9-, 10-year olds, just being able to do that. I knew I was special right away, right then and there..
“Also, too, I knew when I first started playing, this is what I wanted to do.”
Even as a versatile nose tackle and outside tackle at Texas, Murphy played some running back for former University of Washington coach Steve Sarkisian. He scored a touchdown doing that in the Sugar Bowl against UW this past New Year’s Night.
Is Macdonald going to let new Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, from UW, get time with Murphy for running-back plays for Seattle this year?
The new coach, and Murphy, laughed at that idea.
“We’ll see,” Macdonald said, unconvincingly.
“Right now, I don’t think so.”
This story was originally published May 2, 2024 at 4:16 PM.
