BY JAKE THOMPSON
jcthomps@go.olemiss.edu
Murphy Holloway poses for portrait. / (Austin McAfee)
Murphy Holloway is trading his sneakers in for cleats as he signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an un-drafted free agent Saturday night.
Holloway made the announcement through his Twitter account, tweeting “IMA RAVEN!!!!!!” shortly after the NFL Draft ended, which is the time un-drafted free agents can begin signing contracts with teams.
This development came as a shock to some when Holloway mentioned he had NFL teams interested in him after the Rebels were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in late March. Holloway was not as surprised as teams started talking to him before the season was over.
“I got contacted during basketball season,” Holloway said. “They knew that we were going through the tournament, and said they would talk to me when it was over, and they hollered at me right when it was over.”
While participating in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, Holloway was injured during a game and was shocked at how quickly the NFL scouts were made aware of it when they reached out to him.
“They knew every step,” he said. “I got poked in the eye in Portsmouth and got a text right after that said, ‘Hope your eye is OK.’ They knew everything.”
While rumors started swirling that Holloway could possibly be a late round pick in the draft, he was informed he would probably not hear his name called over the weekend.
“The Ravens let me know that they were probably not going to be able to draft me,” Holloway said. “It was a high risk, high reward kind of thing. It’s a business, and if they were going to get me, they were going to get me for cheap.”
Baltimore was in the lead for Holloway throughout most of the process, but the Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears expressed their interest as well.
The Ravens felt the 6-foot-7, 240 pound frame of Holloway would be a good fit for their two tight end scheme. Baltimore only has two tight ends but like to keep three, which is the spot Holloway will be fighting for along with Matt Furstenberg, a tight end from Maryland who was another free agent signing with the Ravens.
Holloway has not played a snap of organized football since his sophomore year of high school, which will put him at a great disadvantage starting out.
“The learning curve for me will be the playbook and learning football technique,” he said. “It’s the small things that you can do to make yourself better. It’s going to be different kinds of workout. I’m looking forward to learning something new everyday because I know I will.”
The journey starts this week for Holloway as he will head to Baltimore Thursday for minicamp over the weekend and return Monday to finish school. He will graduate on May 11 and leave for good on May 12.
