The hoopla of the NFL Draft this week might be different, but for NC State defensive tackle Larrell Murchison, the main elements are in place.
Family is everything to Murchison, so being with them was always the plan this week in Elizabeth, N.C., regardless of how the draft has been affected by the coronavirus. The three-day event runs Thursday-through-Saturday.
“I’m going to be around a lot of family and close friends at the house,” Murchison said. “We’ll be eating and watching the draft. It’s going to be meat balls and fried chicken.”
Murchison was able to showcase his athleticism at the NFL Combine, which allowed him to not suffer much from not having a traditional NC State Pro Day. He was content to rest on his numbers, which meant he didn’t have to create an elaborate “virtual” pro day for NFL teams.
Murchison knows his best football is ahead of him.
“[I tell teams] I’m a consistent player and will do everything the way it is supposed to be,” Murchison said. “I’m going to do what I’m told. If you go back from high school until now, you can see that I’ve improved every year.”
Murchison doesn’t really know what he has missed out on because everything about the NFL Draft process is new to him anyway.
“I don’t know what the draft is like, so I don’t know what to expect,” Murchison said. “I was able to go see some different teams and different people in different cities. That was pretty normal.”
Murchison has been using FaceTime as a way to show his personality with NFL teams.
“I do that all the time every day,” Murchison said.
Murchison clocked 5.05 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 29 inches on the vertical jump and he did 29 reps at 225 pounds on the bench press, which tied for fifth best among defensive lineman tested. He trained for the combine at EXOS in Texas.
“At first I thought I was going to be nervous,” Murchison said. “When that time came, I just treated it like game day.”
Murchison figures he met half the coaches at the combine, and that his communication with them after the event has shown that he’s a consistent and true person.
“They know I’m going to be the same guy,” Murchison said.
The 6-foot-2 1/2, 297-pounder had 48 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, seven sacks and two fumble recoveries last fall, which could lead to a mid-round selection.
“I’m just kind of waiting on that moment right now, but I’ll probably get nervous when the time comes. I’m just waiting right now.”
Murchison is a good example of NCSU’s player development, arriving from Louisburg (N.C.) Junior College as a raw prospect, who benefitted greatly from redshirting his junior year in 2017. He was able to learn from the veteran defensive lineman in the program and then coach Kevin Patrick.
The redshirt year paid off handsomely and he moved into the starting lineup his redshirt junior year. His three-sack performance against Virginia showed he could be next in line in making the NFL from NC State’s defensive line. Bradley Chubb, Justin Jones, B.J. Hill and Kentavius Street were all drafted in 2018. Murchison knows he was always a phone call or text away from learning something about the NFL Draft process from his predecessors. Former Wolfpack linebacker Germaine Pratt of the Cincinnati Bengals helped give him the low down on EXOS for instance.
It also helped Murchison that defensive end James Smith-Williams was going through the same thing. He’s excited to see where his friend ends up this week.
“He’s been great,” Murchison said. “We’ve been sharing all our moves.”
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