No Longer Unknown

Murray's Play Gains Attention

Deandre Murray, 17, running back for Springdale High, has been shown interest by several Division I schools.

Deandre Murray, 17, running back for Springdale High, has been shown interest by several Division I schools.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

— Shane Patrick didn’t know anything about the quiet teenager who looked like an athlete with his long, lean body. He was a bit of an enigma.

Profile

Deandre Murray

School: Springdale High

Height: 5-11

Weight: 175

Notable: Had 194 carries for 1,443 yards and 17 touchdowns in 10 games, averaging 7.4 yards per carry and 144.3 yards per game. ... Broke the single-game conference rushing record by rushing for 356 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-40 win over Van Buren on Oct. 12. ... Hasn’t received any scholarship offers yet, but has gotten interest from Arkansas, Arkansas State, Tulsa and Notre Dame.

Deandre Murray walked into Springdale High’s fieldhouse one day during the spring of his ninth-grade year and told Patrick that he wanted to sign up to play football. Patrick had no idea if Murray had talent or could even make it to practice, and he wasn’t going to get much information out of the teenager.

Murray is reserved and doesn’t immediately open up to people. He’s the type who’ll sit in a car full of people on a long road trip and not say a word if he feels uncomfortable.

“He just kind of showed up one day and said he used to play,” said Patrick, Springdale’s football coach. “And we said, ‘Well, we’ll give you a shot.’”

What Patrick didn’t know at the time was the shy ninth-grader had been told while growing up in Fort Smith that he was good enough to play big-time college football. All he had to do was stay out of trouble, pass his classes and listen to his coaches, and he’d someday be an NCAA Division I prospect.

The way his mother tells it, Murray is a natural-born player.

“His first word was ‘ball’ when he was a baby. He didn’t walk, he ran,” said Joanna Murray, Deandre’s mother. “He went from crawling to running. He’s always just been a solid little muscle, too. He never had little baby fat.”

The legend of the player nicknamed “Quick Six” was born at Springdale.

Murray (5-foot-11, 175 pounds) seemingly came out of nowhere, going from the new kid at school to a star running back who caught the attention of Notre Dame even before his first game with the Bulldogs. He rushed for 1,443 yards and 17 touchdowns in his first season at Springdale, including a record 356 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-40 win over Van Buren on Oct. 12.

So who is Deandre Murray?

Forced To Wait

Patrick stood inside Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium last spring, still unsure about Murray’s potential. A year had passed since Murray walked into Springdale’s fieldhouse and asked to join the team, and the coaches were finally getting their first look at what the tailback could do.

“It didn’t take long,” Murray said. “I just did my thing.”

Coaches called a simple running play for Murray, and in what seemed like an instant the tailback took the handoff, darted through a hole and made three cuts on his way to a 60-yard touchdown run.

“Nobody laid a finger on him, and I turned to our offensive coordinator and was like ‘Wow, that’s pretty good,’” Patrick said.

What made the play even more impressive was that Murray had gone more than a year without carrying the ball in a game. To get on the field for Springdale, he first had go from California to Fort Smith and finally an alternative school in Northwest Arkansas.

Murray is the oldest of Joanna’s four children. She had him when she was 16 years old, and when Murray was around two, she left California for Fort Smith, where her mother, Joyce, had moved for a job.

“Ever since I was little I always wanted to play college football and set that as one of my goals,” Murray said.

Murray grew up watching University of Oklahoma football games, but he wasn’t always eligible to play for his own school. He was raised by a strong single mother who taught her children to stand up for themselves, and that sometimes got him into trouble.

As Murray was approaching high school, his mother moved the family to Springdale, where her mother now lived. However, he was forced to spend the fall of his sophomore year at an alternative school, meaning he had to wait to play for the Bulldogs.

For the first time since the fourth grade Murray didn’t play football.

“He was heartbroken last year,” his mother said.

Patrick said he made it a point to visit Murray once every few weeks at the alternative school to try to encourage him and let him know that Springdale’s coaches hadn’t forgotten about him. Patrick would take Murray out of class and talk to him, stressing to the teenager that he’d be able to join the Bulldogs once he took care of his business.

Still, Murray admitted he had a difficult time being away from football. He attended a few Springdale games, but he mostly stayed away. If he couldn’t play football, he didn’t want to be near it.

“It was really bad because every time I watched them play I wanted to be out there to help them out,” Murray said.

Murray was finally allowed to enroll at Springdale and join the football team last spring. He didn’t know anyone at the school. Not long later, Patrick watched in amazement as Murray took the handoff and showed his breakaway speed during his 60-yard touchdown run in practice.

“He has made a complete turnaround. I don’t think he really cared last year. Now he has a reason to care,” Joanna said. “As a mother, it’s awesome knowing that these colleges want my kid and seeing my kid do the work it’s going to take him to get to the college because he did have a rough first two years. ”

On The Rise

It didn’t take long for colleges to take notice of the junior.

The day after Springdale’s 35-0 win over Batesville in the Aug. 31 season opener, Patrick said he received phone calls from coaches at Arkansas, Arkansas State and Tulsa. They had heard about Murray’s 91-yard punt return the previous night, which served as the breakout moment for him.

He fielded a punt on the right side of the field, then broke several tackles and made a few nifty spin moves on the way to the end zone. Afterward, Patrick said the play was reminiscent of something former Arkansas return man Joe Adams would do.

“There’s no doubt that that punt return set him a part from a lot of high school guys. There’s not a lot of people that can do that,” Patrick said. “That was a pretty special play.”

Murray quickly emerged as one of the top running backs in the 7A/6A-West Conference this season, going back and forth with Bentonville’s Tearris Wallace for the league rushing title.

Was Murray surprised he made such an immediate impact that it caught opposing coaches by surprise? No.

“I expected that because I know what I can do,” Murray said, insisting that he’s not trying to sound cocky. “I really should have done better than I did, that’s what I think.”

In the process, Murray showed why he could be one of the biggest recruits to come out of Springdale since Mitch Mustain and Damian Williams helped make up the highly touted Springdale Five.

Murray said he hasn’t received any scholarship offers yet, but they could soon come. Patrick said Arkansas and Tulsa have contacted him several times about the running back, and Arkansas State is very interested in him. Notre Dame is expected to give Murray another look this spring, and Oregon has asked for film on the junior.

All of a sudden, Murray is being discussed in recruiting circles, something that seemed hard to believe a year ago when he was a relative unknown, even to his own coach.

“Ever since he started playing, people have told him he’s got something special,” Murray’s mother said. “I don’t think he really believed it until this year, though.”