Former NC State football defensive tackle Larrell Murchison spent his time during the NFL Draft with his family in Elizabethtown, N.C. Included with them was his brother Farrell, a fraternal twin that overcame a bout with testicular cancer to return this past fall as a running back at Winston-Salem State.
Both of the Murchison twins attended Louisburg (N.C.) College before moving on, with Larrell getting the big break of signing with a Power Five program at NC State.
Murchison finally heard his name called in the fifth round by the Tennessee Titans, a momentous step in his football odyssey. It’s a bit of an improbable journey for Murchison, who became the first ever player from Bladen County (population of 33,190) to be drafted in the NFL.
“It’s been a long road, but I always kept the faith along the way,” he said. “I’m ready for whatever’s next.”
Murchison had a hunch that the Titans could be a destination point for him. He recalled having a conversation with their general manager — Jon Robinson — that left him convinced that Tennessee was serious in its interest.
“I felt really strong about the Titans, but all year, I know the draft is a whirlpool of a whole bunch of players and team meetings, so I didn’t know how it was going to go,” Murchison added.
He noted that the Titans’ took note of how Murchison played a three-technique defensive tackle as a redshirt junior in NC State’s four-man front and then played both zero-technique and five-technique in the three-man front this past fall.
“I had received interest from them, and they just told me that I could help all along the defensive front from five technique to zero technique,” Murchison stated. “They liked that part of the game — where I am able to help any way that I can.”
Versatility is one of a pair of adjectives that Murchison feels aptly describes him. The other is high motor. Playing with constant energy is more than a phrase for Murchison. It’s a trait of distinction.
““It means everything,” Murchison said. “My teammates and my family, my coaches are part of my family, I play for them. When you think of high motor, I am playing for my guys and I’m playing to win. That carried me throughout my whole college career.”
“I know that me being the leader … for NC State, that if I quit, if I didn’t chase the ball and I didn’t do what I was supposed to be, they look up to me,” Murchison added. “What kind of player would I be if I let them down?”
Ironically, the player known for doing the air guitar sack celebration at NC State is headed to the Music City in the NFL. Murchison noted he picked up the signature move off an Instagram post and added his own spin to it.
How much he might be able to do that in the pros remains to be seen, but what is clear is Murchison will be willing to do anything he can to both make the team and contribute.
“I’m just trying to fit any way that I can,” he said. “Whatever role they give me to play, I’m ready to show I can do it and I’m ready to improve every year.”
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