Murphy likes team makeup

By John Kovach

The Akron native is optimistic about the Thunder's chances this year.

As one of the Mahoning Valley Thunder’s top players last season, and one of only five holdovers, fullback Tim Murphy (University of Pittsburgh) is in a good position to judge the potential of this year’s football team.

And what Murphy sees this season as the Thunder prepares for the franchise’s second season in the af2 are more talented players, a team camaraderie and an optimism to learn and improve, all of which be believes will make the team better and a playoff contender.

“We only have been practicing for about a week but from what I can see, No. 1, our talent level is far more advanced than last year,” Murphy said.

“Coach [Michael] Hold did a good job recruiting talent, and also we have good guys,” said Murphy, who rushed for a team-high 343 yards and 14 TDs while catching 12 passes for 125 yards and two scores last season for the Thunder (7-9). His 16 touchdowns ranked third on the team.

For Murphy’s outstanding season, he was selected to the All-af2 first team.

Murphy, who lives in Akron and is serving as an assistant football coach at his old high school, Akron Buchtel, is very optimistic about the Thunder’s chances this year.

The Thunder’s season opener is Saturday at 7:05 p.m. on Cortland Banks Field inside the Chevrolet Centre against the Albany Conquest.

“I believe that we can make the playoffs,” Murphy said. “We were one game away last year. If we can continue to mold together, there is no reason to believe that we can’t make a run for the playoffs.”

Last year, the Thunder, despite being a first-year team, got off to a great start with three straight wins, but then fell into a five-game losing streak before recovering to win their last three home games.

But the Thunder was not that far away in talent from the Wilkes Barre Scranton Pioneers, even though the locals lost both meetings to the Pennsylvania franchise.

The second loss was by only 11 points, 51-40, and the Pioneers went on to the arenacup8 championship game where they lost by only seven points to the Tulsa Talons, 73-66.

Regarding Murphy’s role with this year’s team, he hopes to contribute more rushing yards, score more points and block better to help the Thunder climb to a higher level.

“Last year, I touched the ball six times a game, and coming back another year, [Coach] Hold knows what I can do, so I hope to get [the ball] eight times a game, whenever the game plan benefits running the ball,” said Murphy, who is joined on the Thunder’s veterans’ roster by wide receivers DeMarcus Mathes and Brian Majors and offensive-defensive linemen Wally Sonnie and Mike Lane.

“I also hope to run the ball at a higher level than last year. I want to do better than I did last year. I did great last year but I want to do better,” said Murphy. “You don’t stay the same. You either do better or worse.”

Murphy, who also doubles as a blocker and protector for the quarterback, said he entered this year’s training camp 15 pounds heavier than last year’s playing weight, which he hopes will help him compete more effectively against bigger opponents.

“I am heavier than last year at 255,” Murphy said. “That will help me. Last year I was playing at 240.

“I have more size this year and that should help me this year both ways, blocking and running,” Murphy said. “When I am not running the ball, I am blocking. I am protecting the passer.”

This year, it appears he will be blocking for quarterbacks Josh Swogger (Ursuline High, Washington State and Montana), Joe Micco (San Jose State) and Joe Taula (New Zealand).

Murphy said the blocking contact between him and the big defensive linemen and linebackers is very rugged, and he felt that he needed more weight to compete.

“We are so close to the line of scrimmage, only about 4 feet away, so I work real close to them,” said Murphy, who probably won’t play too much on defense at linebacker.

“Last year, I played a little bit of both [linebacker and fullback], but this year I don’t plan to play a lot [of defense.”

Murphy said he also has another role on the team: as a teacher.

“My role is to help the younger guys get accustomed to the arena game because we only have five guys from last year and the others are in their first year,” Murphy said. “We have to introduce the game to them and get them prepared for the game.”

He said that the arena game is different to the outdoor game, and that the biggest challenge is adjusting to a smaller and enclosed field which puts the priority on quickness and timing.

“It takes a long time to learn [the arena game],” Murphy said. “The biggest thing is timing.

“The outdoor game and indoor game are the same except that there is more speed in the indoor game because of the constraint of the field size that makes the game even faster,” Murphy said. “You have to know where you need to be and how quick you need to be there.”

Murphy loves the fact that he is surrounded by more talent, especially at fullback. He said that the Thunder’s other fullback candidates, Patrick McCullough (Mount Union) and James Peremenis (Carson-Newman), are challenging for his position and making him become better.

“We are competing and also helping each other,” said Murphy of his interaction with McCullough and Peremenis. “They just keep me going.

“When I do something wrong, Pat or James tell me what it is and they help me do better,” Murphy said.