| Nick Murphy |
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 | Class:
Senior
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| Hometown:
Scottsdale, Ariz.
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| High School:
Desert Mountain
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| Last College:
Scottsdale C.C.
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| Height / Weight:
6-0 / 185
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| Position:
Punter
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ASU: One of the top punters in the nation … will be a candidate for pre- and postseason honors … can punt for distance or for the corner … looks to pick up where he left off last year after earning honorable-mention all-conference honors and being named a Ray Guy Award semifinalist … a preseason first-team All-Pac-10 selection by Athlon Sports Magazine … had an outstanding spring, booting punts of 54 and 63 yards in the spring game … is writing a weekly column for ASU's official web site, www.thesundevils.com, which presents a player's eye view one the season. 2000: Honorable-mention All-Pac-10 honoree … a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award which is presented annually to the top punter in the nation … handled punting duties in all 12 games … averaged 41.3 yards per kick over 86 tries (3,551 yards) … forced seven touchbacks and 15 fair catches … had 30 punts downed inside the 20-yard-line … was blocked only three times … booted a 53-yarder vs. San Diego State … punted 11 times (one shy of school record) for 463 yards and had three punts downed inside the 5-yard line vs. San Diego State ... was named Pac-10 Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts vs. San Diego State ... season-long was a 61-yarder vs. Colorado State … punted three times for 124 yards vs. Utah State, downing one inside the 20-yard line and limiting the Aggies to zero returns … two of his six punts for 226 yards vs. UCLA were downed inside the 20-yard-line for zero returns … booted a 52-yard bomb, downed at the 8-yard-line, which was just one of three to stop inside the 20 vs. California … downed three of four punts inside the 16-yard line vs. Oregon, including one at the 2-yard line … knocked a 41-yarder to the 3-yard line vs. Stanford … nestled five of eight punts inside the 20-yard line while still averaging 46 yards per kick in ASU's win at Arizona. 1999: Handled bulk of the punting duties throughout the season as Stephen Baker would periodically "pooch-punt" ... 59 total boots for a 38.9 average ... 21 punts were placed within the 20-yard line, while only three went into the end zone ... had season-long kick of 56 yards twice, at Washington and at Oregon ... had season-high nine punts in win over UCLA, averaging 43.9 yards in length ... season-best average of 48.3 yards on three punts in win over Washington State ... had punts downed at the Arizona five- and one-yard lines in victory over rival Wildcats.
JUNIOR COLLEGE: Attended Scottsdale Community College in 1998 … earned the special teams MVP award … coached by Ken Giovando.
HIGH SCHOOL: A 1998 graduate of Desert Mountain High School … lettered two years in football, four years in track and two years in soccer … was captain of the soccer team his junior year … earned all-city and all-region honors his senior year in football and his junior year in soccer … was the MVP in soccer in 1997 … set a school record with a 66-yard punt in 1998 … coached by Steve Belles.
PERSONAL: Major is broadcasting … parents are David Murphy (insurance agent) and Diane (teacher) … his stepmother, Collen, is a teacher for the Scottsdale Unified School District … born Oct. 22, 1979, in St. Louis, Missouri … has two brothers (Greg and Camden) … lists most exciting experience in sports as making the playoffs in football his senior year in high school … enjoys music, the outdoors and playing all sports … full name is Nicholas Jon Murphy.
CAREER HIGHS: Punts: 12, vs. Washington (10/14/00). Punting Yards: 514, vs. Washington (10/14/00). Punting Average: 48.3, vs. Washington State (10/23/99).
Murphy's Career Statistics
Year G No. Yds. Avg. Lg. TB Blkd. I20
1999 12 68 2610 38.4 56 3 1 21
2000 12 86 3551 41.3 61 7 3 30
Career 24 154 6161 40.0 61 10 4 51
