Naperville North senior linebacker Drew Murphy has always been close to his older brother, Matt.
Only two years apart, they’ve bonded over everything, especially football. They don’t have any other siblings.
“He’s definitely super inspirational to me,” Drew Murphy said of his brother, who also played linebacker for the Huskies. “I’ve always looked up to him.
“He’s been a great brother to me, and me and him are super close. We’re definitely best friends with each other. We love talking about football, and me and him just love to put our head in A gap and just get after it on the field.”
The Murphy brothers are extremely good at that. Their mental and physical toughness are perfectly suited for playing linebacker.
That’s not the only thing they have in common. They’ve also dealt with injuries.
Matt Murphy and Ryan Mohler
When Matt Murphy was a junior, he suffered a season-ending torn ACL and meniscus during the first quarter of Naperville North’s season opener. But he made a triumphant return as a senior, recording 82 tackles and five sacks to earn All-DuPage Valley Conference and all-area honors.
“I watched him from the stands, and, man, it was just super inspirational because not a lot of people saw the hard work that he put in in the offseason to get his knee better,” Drew Murphy said. “He actually did something called the Squatober in late spring where he would just squat every day. He got both legs back to being as strong as each other to reduce the chance of injury.
“He liked to bring the energy to be a great leader and just inspire your team to do better.”
The 6-foot-2, 209-pound Drew Murphy is following a similar path. His junior season was marred by a sprained ankle that he suffered against Naperville Central in Week 2. He didn’t miss any games, but he wasn’t himself.
“It just nagged me the whole season, and it really affected my play,” he said. “I tried to play through it and be tough.
“I probably should have took a week or two off, but that’s football. You can’t always play healthy sometimes.”
The injury tested Drew Murphy’s mettle as no opponent could. The Huskies’ defense often played poorly, in large part because key players had serious injuries.
“It was definitely difficult,” Drew Murphy said. “The main part was definitely the mental side of it.
“I just didn’t do as good as I wanted to last season, and I felt like I let a lot of people down. So I’m just trying to stay healthy this season and bring it back and just show people I can play football.”
Drew Murphy is off to a great start for Naperville North (2-1, 1-0), which will play at Homewood-Flossmoor in a Southwest Valley Blue game on Friday. He leads the Huskies with 18 tackles, two pass breakups and an interception.
“He’s meant everything,” Naperville North defensive lineman Gabriel Hill said. “He’s a leader of the defense. He brings the heart every day. When we have mistakes, he’s the first guy to pick up everybody up.”
Naperville North coach Sean Drendel has seen that before.
“Toward the end of the year, when he got healthy, he was really good for us,” Drendel said. “He’s a great leader, a great guy for our team.”
Drew Murphy had his greatest performance during Naperville North’s 35-14 Southwest Valley Blue victory over visiting Metea Valley last week. He led all players with 10 tackles, eight of them solo, and an interception that he returned 18 yards to the Mustangs’ 10-yard line.
The pick set up Naperville North senior running back William Eloe’s 10-yard touchdown that gave the Huskies a 14-0 lead. Hill, an Indiana recruit, also had an interception in that game.
“They play with their passion, which you see them bringing every day to practice,” Drendel said. “It’s starting to be infectious with our team, and I think they’re doing a great job.
“As long as we’ve got those guys, we’ll be all right.”
Matt Murphy opted not to play college football after enduring his injuries, but Drew Murphy wants to continue playing.
“That’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid, so that would be awesome,” Drew Murphy said. “I haven’t been super proactive with my recruiting process, but I don’t have great film from last year because that nagging injury really messed me up.
“I’m definitely going to get my tape out there, and hopefully some colleges will see that and like what they see.”
Hill already likes what he sees from Drew Murphy.
“He’s a model captain,” Hill said. “He cares about the team.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
