Northeastern Football Recruiting Interview

Varsityedge.com sat down with former Northeastern University(MA) Quarterback Jim Murphy of Reading Massachusetts. After a solid High School career, Murphy took his game to Northeastern where he broke many passing records from 1994-1997. After redshirting as a freshman, Murphy sat the first 3 games of his career before being inserted as a starter and from there went on to start 41 straight games going (6-5) as a junior and (8-3) as a senior and leading Northeastern to its first back-to-back winning seasons since 1967. After school, Murphy had the chance to participate in two training camps with the New England Patriots where he saw pre-season action and also got to play in the NFL Europe league with the Barcelona Dragons for one season.

Were you recruited heavily out of High School?
I was recruited by a lot of 1AA schools such as University of Maine, University of New Hampshire, Boston University & Northeastern.

Did you high school coaching staff assist you in your recruiting efforts at all?
Yes Tom Kasprzak at Reading High helped me tremendously by assisting in the creation of game film editing, contacting local coaches and writing recommendations for me.

What was the hardest aspect of the recruiting process for you personally?
I would say making a final decision because there were two coaches in particular I liked very much and trusted and it was hard telling them that I would not be joining their program.

Did you attend any summer camps in high school?
Yes, I attended a camp at Boston College and a camp at Northeastern. I think the camp at Northeastern contributed to helping me get noticed and recruited by the Northeastern Football Staff.

Did these camps help you better rate your ability?
Yes definitely. I got to compete against players from other parts of the state and country and it provided a benchmark for my skill level at that time and I realized that I could compete with many top ranked quarterbacks.

What was the hardest football adjustment you had to make at Northeastern?
I would say I was undersized at that level when I arrived so gaining weight and gaining strength to compete on an everyday basis.

What was the hardest academic adjustment you had to make at Northeastern?
Just balancing athletics and studies in a way that worked for me.

After football season ended in college, what were the winter and spring requirements?
We had required lifting in the winter and 6AM runs 3 days a week and I threw a million balls in the winter as well. In the spring we had formal practices and that was a good way to show the coaches how hard you had worked in the winter.

What would you tell a high school athlete who thought big time Division 1 football is the only way to go?
If you are interested in playing at that level go for it, but there are a lot of great schools and great programs at the 1AA level and you should not overlook any programs and I really enjoyed my time playing at Northeastern and it was very competitive football.

You went through 2 training camps with the New England Patriots, what was that experience like?
It was a dream come true and a great experience any time you are the local kid playing for the home team. I met a lot of great people and learned a lot about the game of football, much of which I am passing on to younger players in my camp programs.

Do you think your experiences as a college athlete has helped you grow your professional working career?
Yes the dedication and discipline it takes to be a college athlete are skills that can assist you in your day-to-day life and overcoming adversity.

How much more difficult was college football compared to high school?
The game is faster and the players are bigger, but you game naturally rises as you are surrounded with more talent but you need to feel you belong and have confidence in yourself to be successful.

Did your college coaches take a pro-active role in players academic success ensuring everyone was on the right track?
Yes the NCAA has strict rules on academic eligibility so we had a lot of study halls and tutors if need be and our coaches monitored us pretty well especially in the first year. As we got older and understood what we needed to do they backed off us a little.

Did your college coaches prepare you enough for what was going to be expected of you academically and athletically?
They tried to but until you experience it first hand as the athlete, nothing they say can really prepare you and its really a matter of figuring out what is going on and what you need to do on your own to be successful.