Spotlighting redshirt freshman offensive tackle Mason Murphy's emergence this fall, how he got to this point and what it means moving forward:
USC.rivals.com
Entering this year, the biggest concern for the USC football team -- well, certainly at least for Trojans fans -- was the depth at offensive tackle, both for the present and the future.
That's why USC had brought in Virginia grad transfer Bobby Haskins last December to help fortify the depth chart along with returning redshirt sophomores Courtland Ford and Jonah Monheim.
But Haskins would only be here for a year, Ford and Monheim still had plenty to prove and many thought the latter's future to be on the interior of the line eventually. There wasn't much else to project into 2023 at the tackle spots beyond the still very raw potential of redshirt freshman Mason Murphy, who had fractured his foot last fall while losing a valuable season of development on the practice field.
Well, Murphy has made up for that lost time and then some, and his impressive emergence is one of the most significant developments for the Trojans in the broader picture.
Murphy has now started consecutive games at right and left tackle, respectively, drawing praise from coach Lincoln Riley and teammates while looking like he can already be inked in as a starter for next season on one side or the other.
"He's done pretty well considering his first two starts are at different positions. Pretty impressive for a younger guy to be able to do it. I would certainly give some of that credit to some of the experienced guys that he's had an opportunity to play next to. That's absolutely, I think, been a factor. But he's done well, he's played well, he's limited the mental mistakes and you certainly see his talent out there," Riley said Thursday. "He's talented enough that his good plays look pretty good and even when he's out of position his athleticism shows up and he's able to at times get himself out of some bad positions. So needless to say we've been impressed.
"For us to have the confidence in him to do that back-to-back weeks in his first two starts shows I think the confidence that's building in him. ... It's been cool to see him start to take off."
With five offensive linemen committed in this 2023 recruiting class, including four-star offensive tackle Elijah Paige, the future is starting to look a little less hazy -- and concerning -- up front for the Trojans.
But especially hearing the way Riley and others have talked about Murphy, the highest-ranked offensive lineman USC has signed since Justin Dedich way back in the 2018 recruiting class.
"Mason Murphy's a talented kid, probably the most talented in our room," Dedich said after the redshirt freshman's first career start at Arizona two weeks ago.
Murphy's first start in that game came at right tackle, with left guard Andrew Vorhees sidelined, Dedich moving over to his spot and Monheim sliding in from right tackle to right guard. PFF graded Murphy out at a solid 73.8 -- second-best among USC's linemen that game -- with 0 pressures allowed over 50 pass-blocking snaps and one penalty.
Last week, Murphy then manned left tackle with Haskins sidelined and allowed just 1 QB hurry over 44 pass-blocking snaps with 0 penalties. He graded out at a 72.4, per PFF.
"We knew he was ready," Monheim said.
More to the point, Dedich, Monheim and the rest of USC's veteran offensive line unit took upon themselves to make sure Murphy would be ready if needed this season.
"It's definitely taken some time and some tough love out of that room, for sure. He's in a great room for a young, immature, inexperienced guy to be in. And I don't say immature in a negative way -- he's like 99 percent of the other freshmen. But Dedich and Brett [Neilon] and Jonah and all those guys have been on him, and they've pushed him and they set a good example for him," Riley said. "And I give Mason credit, he's followed. We've been hard on him. He's got some real talent, he's really got a chance to be a good player, but he's needed to grow up and mature and really kind of press forward. So I think just a combination of all that and Mason's willingness to kind of push through and get better was great, and then Mason's a competitive guy.
"Some guys kind of rise up on game day, some guys kind of cower down a little bit. The moment certainly wasn't too big. He was ready to go in and compete."
Not surprisingly, a lot of that pushing and example-setting was from Dedich, the consummate team captain and fifth-year Trojan.
"Kind of going back to offseason just starting it in the weight room, Justin took accountability and said, 'I'm going to go lift with Mason every day,'" Monheim recalled. "So he was in a different group and he ended up switching over to work with Mason every day to kind of take him under his wing in the weight room, and then same thing goes for conditioning and school and accountability. We were just trying to get on him every day to do the right things, to take every day each day at a time and improve every day because he's a super talented guy. If he does everything right day in and day out, the sky's the limit for him."
Dedich said he got to know Murphy back when Murphy was still at JSerra High School, training with Chris Talamaivao and Giant Skillz Athletics in the offseason.
"I'd go train with him a little bit, and I just saw that kid's talent. He's so gifted," Dedich said this week. "And this summer one of his points of emphasis was to get stronger so I figured I'd take him under my wing and try to push him a little more. Instead of add a 10, try to add a 25 -- that type of mentality. It worked. The kid grinded all summer and you can see the results on the field."
Dedich says he's seen Murphy exhibit a higher football IQ this fall, a tougher mentality and that maturity Riley referenced. Haskins' status for USC's game Friday night vs. Colorado is unclear, and thus so is Murphy's role, but his future now seems very in focus.
As for the work behind-the-scenes to get him to this point, Dedich was asked just how much nudging and pushing it took through the offseason, spring and summer to bring this out of Murphy?
"I never really ... well, I guess there was a few times I had to get on him," Dedich said with a smile. "But it was nothing serious. But he responded well. He's a really good kid."
And already an answer to what figured to be one of the Trojans' biggest questions heading into 2023.
TrojanSports - Mason Murphy's emergence has seemingly answered a big USC question for 2023
Spotlighting redshirt freshman offensive tackle Mason Murphy's development and what it means for USC moving forward.
USC.rivals.com
Entering this year, the biggest concern for the USC football team -- well, certainly at least for Trojans fans -- was the depth at offensive tackle, both for the present and the future.
That's why USC had brought in Virginia grad transfer Bobby Haskins last December to help fortify the depth chart along with returning redshirt sophomores Courtland Ford and Jonah Monheim.
But Haskins would only be here for a year, Ford and Monheim still had plenty to prove and many thought the latter's future to be on the interior of the line eventually. There wasn't much else to project into 2023 at the tackle spots beyond the still very raw potential of redshirt freshman Mason Murphy, who had fractured his foot last fall while losing a valuable season of development on the practice field.
Well, Murphy has made up for that lost time and then some, and his impressive emergence is one of the most significant developments for the Trojans in the broader picture.
Murphy has now started consecutive games at right and left tackle, respectively, drawing praise from coach Lincoln Riley and teammates while looking like he can already be inked in as a starter for next season on one side or the other.
"He's done pretty well considering his first two starts are at different positions. Pretty impressive for a younger guy to be able to do it. I would certainly give some of that credit to some of the experienced guys that he's had an opportunity to play next to. That's absolutely, I think, been a factor. But he's done well, he's played well, he's limited the mental mistakes and you certainly see his talent out there," Riley said Thursday. "He's talented enough that his good plays look pretty good and even when he's out of position his athleticism shows up and he's able to at times get himself out of some bad positions. So needless to say we've been impressed.
"For us to have the confidence in him to do that back-to-back weeks in his first two starts shows I think the confidence that's building in him. ... It's been cool to see him start to take off."
With five offensive linemen committed in this 2023 recruiting class, including four-star offensive tackle Elijah Paige, the future is starting to look a little less hazy -- and concerning -- up front for the Trojans.
But especially hearing the way Riley and others have talked about Murphy, the highest-ranked offensive lineman USC has signed since Justin Dedich way back in the 2018 recruiting class.
"Mason Murphy's a talented kid, probably the most talented in our room," Dedich said after the redshirt freshman's first career start at Arizona two weeks ago.
Murphy's first start in that game came at right tackle, with left guard Andrew Vorhees sidelined, Dedich moving over to his spot and Monheim sliding in from right tackle to right guard. PFF graded Murphy out at a solid 73.8 -- second-best among USC's linemen that game -- with 0 pressures allowed over 50 pass-blocking snaps and one penalty.
Last week, Murphy then manned left tackle with Haskins sidelined and allowed just 1 QB hurry over 44 pass-blocking snaps with 0 penalties. He graded out at a 72.4, per PFF.
"We knew he was ready," Monheim said.
More to the point, Dedich, Monheim and the rest of USC's veteran offensive line unit took upon themselves to make sure Murphy would be ready if needed this season.
"It's definitely taken some time and some tough love out of that room, for sure. He's in a great room for a young, immature, inexperienced guy to be in. And I don't say immature in a negative way -- he's like 99 percent of the other freshmen. But Dedich and Brett [Neilon] and Jonah and all those guys have been on him, and they've pushed him and they set a good example for him," Riley said. "And I give Mason credit, he's followed. We've been hard on him. He's got some real talent, he's really got a chance to be a good player, but he's needed to grow up and mature and really kind of press forward. So I think just a combination of all that and Mason's willingness to kind of push through and get better was great, and then Mason's a competitive guy.
"Some guys kind of rise up on game day, some guys kind of cower down a little bit. The moment certainly wasn't too big. He was ready to go in and compete."
Not surprisingly, a lot of that pushing and example-setting was from Dedich, the consummate team captain and fifth-year Trojan.
"Kind of going back to offseason just starting it in the weight room, Justin took accountability and said, 'I'm going to go lift with Mason every day,'" Monheim recalled. "So he was in a different group and he ended up switching over to work with Mason every day to kind of take him under his wing in the weight room, and then same thing goes for conditioning and school and accountability. We were just trying to get on him every day to do the right things, to take every day each day at a time and improve every day because he's a super talented guy. If he does everything right day in and day out, the sky's the limit for him."
Dedich said he got to know Murphy back when Murphy was still at JSerra High School, training with Chris Talamaivao and Giant Skillz Athletics in the offseason.
"I'd go train with him a little bit, and I just saw that kid's talent. He's so gifted," Dedich said this week. "And this summer one of his points of emphasis was to get stronger so I figured I'd take him under my wing and try to push him a little more. Instead of add a 10, try to add a 25 -- that type of mentality. It worked. The kid grinded all summer and you can see the results on the field."
Dedich says he's seen Murphy exhibit a higher football IQ this fall, a tougher mentality and that maturity Riley referenced. Haskins' status for USC's game Friday night vs. Colorado is unclear, and thus so is Murphy's role, but his future now seems very in focus.
As for the work behind-the-scenes to get him to this point, Dedich was asked just how much nudging and pushing it took through the offseason, spring and summer to bring this out of Murphy?
"I never really ... well, I guess there was a few times I had to get on him," Dedich said with a smile. "But it was nothing serious. But he responded well. He's a really good kid."
And already an answer to what figured to be one of the Trojans' biggest questions heading into 2023.
