National Football Foundation

Safety
Informatics – 3.85 GPA
Head Coach: Kevin Wilson
Athletics Director: Fred Glass

A 2013 CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-American, Indiana’s Mark Murphy has established himself as a leader both on the field and in the classroom. One of the football program’s command leaders for the second year, Murphy becomes the fifth Hoosier to become an NFF National Scholar-Athlete.

With a 3.85 GPA, Murphy is currently pursuing a degree in informatics, and he is expected to graduate in May 2015. He is a three-time Academic All-District honoree, as well as a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. The ninth Hoosier to be named an Academic-All American, Murphy received the 2013 Jack D. Tichenor Award, given to the male student-athlete with the highest GPA, and the football Scholastic Achievement Award in 2013. NFL.com recently named him one of the 2014 “Smartest Players in College Football.” Upon graduation, Murphy plans to pursue a graduate degree in business information technology.

The son of Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame safety Mark Murphy, the Akron, Ohio, native is the Hoosiers’ active leader in tackles, and he has posted eight career double-digit tackle performances. An integral player in Indiana’s defense, he has twice finished the season ranked second in tackles and twice been named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. In 2011, Murphy was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team after leading all league rookies with 76 tackles. He has registered 271 tackles, seven tackles for loss and four interceptions in his Indiana career.

When he is not in class or on the gridiron, the Hoosiers safety volunteers with the Bloomington Boys and Girls Club, Jill’s House, Read Across America and Hoosiers Outrun Cancer. Murphy also belongs to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He is currently a software developer for General Motors in Austin, Texas.