Decisions...Decisions
Stratford sophomore Drew Murdock has balancing act
Matt Malatesta
May 23, 2018, 8:41 pm
Murdock was the Spartans’ starting quarterback, played varsity basketball and advanced to state in golf Vype
One of the traits a high school student-athlete must have is time management and Stratford’s Drew Murdock is one of the best in the business.
Murdock was the Spartans’ starting quarterback, played varsity basketball and advanced to state in golf. Throw in the fact that the Murdock family was out of their house for nearly nine months due to Hurricane Harvey makes his accomplishments even more impressive.
All the while, being the No. 1 ranked student in his class.
The Class of 2020 – yes, he’s just a sophomore.
Murdock was thrust into the top quarterback spot after his brother Mark went down with a shoulder injury. Insert the 6-foot younger brother.
“It was very shocking when he went down,” Murdock said. “We were looking forward to playing with each other this season. He was a great mentor for me this year and a great guy to look up to in the locker room.”
When asked about the excitement around his junior season, the answer was a little surprising.
“I’m not 100-percent sure on football next year,” Murdock admitted. “I’ve had several golf coaches tell me that if I just focused on golf, the sky is the limit. I’m going to play a ton of golf this summer. My ultimate goal is to play golf in college, not football.”
He has the genes for golf, seeing that his mom Jenny played college golf at the University of Texas and on the LPGA Tour.
The decision about football will also have a lot to do with the new head coach at Stratford. Coach Eliot Allen departed to take the Brenham High School position and at press date, no decision had been made on a new coach.
“That’s going to play a big role in my decision,” Murdock said. “I know I’ll be itching to play football this summer, but we will see. It would be really tough to walk away from.”
Taking football off the slate will open up his busy schedule if he goes that route.
“It’s certainly not always fun,” Murdock said about his busy schedule. “From 2:30-7 pm I’m grinding on sports stuff, and from 7:30-10 pm I’m studying the textbooks.”
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C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans are looking for answers after their passing game couldn’t get going in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Houston’s passing attack had been a strength all season, and the Texans ranked fifth in yards passing per game through their first six games. But on Sunday at Lambeau Field, Stroud was limited to a career-low 86 yards in the 24-22 loss, which snapped a three-game winning streak.
Stroud was 10 of 21 and didn’t have a touchdown pass for the first time this season. The second-year player was under duress for much of the day and was sacked four times and hit seven other times.
“We have to go back to the drawing board and see what those issues were,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “As we watch the film, we’ll see what happened, starting for me the communication and just guys being on the details of the job.”
'Everything is on the table. We have to get it fixed' #Texans coach DeMeco Ryans on offensive line and if personnel changes are being contemplated @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/AwK0rqeU2z
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 21, 2024
The Texans scored a season-high 41 points in a win over New England a week earlier in which Stroud threw a season-best three touchdown passes despite being without star receiver Nico Collins.
They were unable to replicate that success Sunday with Collins out for the second of at least four games after a hamstring injury landed him on injured reserve.
Stefon Diggs led the team with five receptions against the Packers, but they only amounted to 23 yards. Tank Dell, who the Texans expected to step up with Collins out, was targeted four times but didn’t have a catch.
Stroud discussed the importance of getting Dell more involved in the offense.
“We have to find a way to try and get him the rock early and often and then go from there,” he said. “It has to be a focus for us, not only just him, but the whole offense clicking early. That is really my job to get the ball out on time and to where it is supposed to go. So yeah, that definitely has to be fixed.”
Ryans spoke about his confidence is getting Dell going.
'I have all the faith in Tank' #Texans coach DeMeco Ryans expressed confidence in Tank Dell ability to get back to making explosive plays again as he did as a rookie @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/bojBEx3lYo
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 21, 2024
What's working
The Texans have forced seven turnovers combined in their last two games after they hadn’t caused any in their previous three games.
Houston scored 16 points off three turnovers Sunday. The Texans had two interceptions and recovered a fumble on a punt. In their win over the Patriots, they scored 17 points off a season-high four turnovers.
What needs help
The Texans won’t get to where they want to be this season if Stroud doesn’t get back on track. Before Sunday, last year’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year was averaging more than 262 yards passing a game, giving the team confidence that the problems in the passing game are fixable.
Ryans knows the line must give Stroud more time to throw and said the coaching staff will focus on improving in that area this week.
Stock up
RB Joe Mixon continued to shine Sunday in his second game back after missing three games with an ankle injury. Mixon, who is in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati, had 25 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay.
Mixon is confident the Texans will rebound this week if they quit making mistakes.
“Does it look I’m worried? I’m not worried at all,” he said. “Like I said, we got a ... good football team. At the end of the day, we are our own worst enemy.”
Stock down
Dell was unable to help Stroud get the passing game going. The second-year player had a solid rookie season with 709 yards receiving and seven touchdowns in 11 games before breaking his leg. But he hasn’t been able to build on that success this year and has just 194 yards receiving with one score in six games.
Injuries
LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), LB Henry To’oTo’o (concussion), CB Kamari Lassiter (shoulder) and S Jimmie Ward (groin) all missed Sunday’s game and it’s unclear if any of these starters can return this week.
Key number
3 — Safety Calen Bullock had his third interception Sunday to tie Dunta Robinson and Jumal Rolle for most interceptions by a rookie in franchise history through the first seven games. He leads NFL rookies in interceptions this season and is tied for third-most among all players.
Next steps
The AFC South-leading Texans (5-2) return to division play Sunday when they host the second-place Colts (4-3), who have won two in a row and four of five.