The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1137844
FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2019 When Larrell Murchison first arrived on campus, he was thought to be a potential im- mediate contributor on the defensive line, considering he was a junior college All-Amer- ican at Louisburg College that was recruited by the likes of Georgia and Texas. Expectations did not match reality. But a couple of years later, Murchison is turning into the player that many evaluators thought he could be. It just took a little time, and a lot of improvement. "It's beyond belief," defensive line coach Kevin Patrick acknowledged. "If you looked at his stance on our evaluation when he first got here, I joke around about it all the time." It did not take Patrick long to realize that the 6-3, 291-pounder needed to redshirt. It turned out that was the best thing that could have happened for him, and his coach saw tremendous strides made during the first year on campus and following through last season. "It was almost abnormal at times," Patrick said of his improvements. Murchison knew that what he showed on the field when he first arrived at NC State probably had the Wolfpack coaches second-guessing why they had taken the native of Elizabethtown, N.C., but his mission was to not let them down. The defensive coaches could not have been more proud when Murchison went from the player who did not know how to get into a proper stance to the full-time starter who was named the team's Defensive Line- man of the Year and the Most Improved Player following last season. Murchison announced his arrival with a huge three-sack, four-tackle-for-loss performance in a home win over Virginia. He also had an intercep- tion in the game against Florida State. "You look at the three-sack game, we expect more of that," Patrick said. "At the end of the day, guys like that get plays like that and have days like that, when our defense is playing well. "The other 10 guys are doing their job — you can be the lucky guy where a lot of those big plays fall on you. You just have to make the most of your op- portunities. I think Murch will continue to do so." A consistent Murchison would be a big boost for the Wolfpack. The line loses fellow interior starter in Eurndraus Bryant, who exhausted his eligibility. The Pack will be hoping rel- atively inexperienced options like redshirt junior Val Martin or redshirt freshman Der- rick Eason can help fill in the rotation along with Murchison and promising sophomore Alim McNeill. That puts the onus on Murchison to be the leader in the middle. He certainly should have the respect of one given the strides he has made since he first arrived in Raleigh. Defensive Player To Watch LARRELL MURCHISON • 5TH-SR. • DT 102 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Murchison started all 13 games last fall after redshirting his first year on cam- pus following his transfer from Louisburg College, where he was a Junior College All-American. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN