St. John Bosco OL Joe Murphy Gives College Camp Update

Written by Ryan Wright

One of the biggest misses so far in the 2016 recruiting class has been St. John Bosco offensive lineman Joe Murphy. Murphy is entering his third year as a starter for the Los Angeles area powerhouse high school football team having firmly cemented his role as a leader on the team.

Despite being a leader on one of the best teams in the nation over the past two seasons Murphy is still looking for that first big offer. After impressing coaches at the various camps his stock is rising.

The now 6’4”, 318 pound, tackle for the Bellflower squad made some of the rounds during the offseason hitting up a few camps. I sat down with the rising star to get his thoughts on how some of the camps

Joe, which camps do you end up attending this offseason?

“I ended up going to the Colorado camp at Redlands University. That was a good camp. I flew out to Miami (Hurricanes) for the camp there and that went extremely well. I just finished the UCLA Elite Big Man Camp. That went extremely well too. I plan on going to the ASU (Arizona State) camp but I have summer practices.”

You said the Miami camp went extremely well, what about the camp went well for you?

“I definitely showed my dominance in one-on-ones. I ended up playing guard more than I did tackle. That was fine for me because I competed at a high level. I didn’t lose any reps and the coaches showed a lot of interest in me so I am excited about that.”

Which Miami coaches talked to you at their camp?

“Coach (Art) Kehoe (offensive line coach) pulled me aside and said he really liked me. They took down all of my information and said they will be looking out for me and hopefully they’ll make contact soon.”

You said the UCLA camp went well for you too, breakdown that camp for me.

“It was the first time I got to meet Coach (Adrian) Klemm. I didn’t get to meet him when I took my unofficial visit up there. I played offensive guard there as well at it went great. I hustled a lot of people out. It was just a fun experience. Coach Klemm is a really nice guy. It was nice to finally meet him and hopefully it goes well.”

I know the various schools cannot get in touch with you right now because of the dead period but where is everything left off with the various schools? Are you supposed to send them film after your first three games?

“After every game I’ll make a mini-highlight film. After my first three games I plan on sending out my film to a lot of schools and UCLA will definitely be one of the schools that receive it.”

The ASU camp, that camp is iffy for you to attend?

“Yeah we have summer practices. I know if I am out there I’ll be out there for a couple of days. I don’t know if I can miss a couple of days with the season right around the corner.”

Do you have any unofficial visits scheduled?

“I’ve been to UCLA and USC. If I do go to ASU, I’ll make an unofficial there but as I said that’s still up in the air.”

At the various camps what have the teams measured you at with height and weight?

“On average I’ve been listed at 6’4”, 318 pounds.”

You’ve added on a few pounds.

“I’ve added on a few pounds of muscle.”

Nice. With the different camps that you’ve attended have you learned anything from a technique standpoint that will help you throughout your senior year?

“I have a really good O-line coach at Bosco, (Jimmy) Adams. He’s done a great job of installing a lot of technique in me. But at the UCLA camp, Coach Klemm helped me with my pass set. I was leaning too much. He got me to get my head back and strike better.”

Have you picked up any new interest?

“I’ve received a couple of letters from Stanford, Cal, San Jose State, and I’ve been talking to a coach from UC Davis. They seem really interested.”

You’ve mentioned summer practices, how have they been going so far?

“The practices have been going really well. We’re a very strong unit on offense and on defense. We are looking good. Our O-line is coming together. We have a lot of good pieces that are coming together and we’re looking stronger.”

This is your third year as a starter for Bosco, have you taken a leadership role on the offensive line going into the 2015 season?

“The guys look to me for answers. I consider myself the leader of our offensive line. I have a sophomore guard next to me, I help him out. The guys ask me questions and I answer them and I try to lead by example.”

Good luck this season Joe.

“Thank you.”

Photo credit: Joe Murphy; Joe battles at UCLA’s Elite Big Man Camp.