On Monday, one of the Heels top targets will make his decision. 4✮ SDE Myles Murphy from Dudley High School in Greensboro, NC will make his decision between four finalists, Carolina, Alabama, Florida and South Carolina, on Monday following his official visits to all four schools earlier this summer. With the Tar Heels making progress and closing in on South Carolina to take over as the favorite it begs the question of what would his commitment mean for the Heels 2020 class?
Let’s start with the fact that Murphy is an in-state prospect. As the No. 5 player in the state of North Carolina, Murphy is the type of player that Mack Brown was talking about when he took the job at Carolina. The previous staff had so many chances to keep in-state prospects like Murphy home and failed to do so, but in what is likely the state’s strongest recruiting class ever, Brown and his staff have made an impression early. Landing a player like Murphy would only continue to show the progress that the staff is already making in-state and continue the initiative to keep the top talent home.
Earlier in the week, Murphy previewed his commitment with WFMY’s Brian Hall and said that he already knows where he is committing and that whoever that school is planning to him anywhere from the 3-technique to the 5-technique. That lines up well with where defensive ends will play in Jay Bateman’s system and is an area that the Heels are in need of commitment. All three of the defensive ends committed thus far in the 2020 class will likely have to stand up and play that RUSH linebacker position or work to put on the weight necessary to play that 4i-technique that Bateman loved to use with his defensive ends at Army. Murphy, on the other hand, has the size (6'4, 260 lbs.) and skill set to thrive in that 4i-technique and do so early. If Murphy does commit to play for Bateman’s defense, fit will be a big reason why.
With Malik Hornsby’s decommitment back on June 25th, the Tar Heels 2020 class lacks a top 200 player, but Murphy could quickly solve that. Murphy ranks as the No. 5 strong-side defensive end in the country and No. 117 overall player in the 2020 class. His commitment would give the Heels that nice headliner back that could propel this class back into the top 12 in the 247Sports Composite Rankings. With Desmond Evans also tending towards Carolina, Murphy’s commitment could be the start of a historic defensive line class.