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The NFL Draft is a month away, and pro days can yield the kind of ridiculous numbers that build intrigue around outside-the-box prospects you might have never heard of before. That’s the case with UTSA kicker Jaffer Murphy, a former college soccer player who turned heads at the Roadrunners’ pro day last week when he not only hit a 70-yard field goal, but then was timed at 4.50 seconds in the 40-yard dash. “I definitely wanted to stand out and do something that would impress the scouts,” the 24-year-old told me over the phone. “I was very blessed that it went the way that it did.” Murphy’s path to where he is now is unique, to say the least. He was born in Liberia in West Africa, moved to the United States in 2006 and was adopted here. He played soccer, basketball and football in high school, and was talented enough to play soccer in college at Drake and Florida Gulf Coast. He decided to give college football a try in 2024, playing at Division II Erie College, going 13-for-21 on field goals and connecting from as far out as 60 yards. That got him a spot at North Carolina as a preferred walk-on in spring 2025, but after sitting down with coach Bill Belichick, he wasn’t guaranteed a spot on their 105-man roster. So, he drove 20-plus hours to Texas to work out for coaches at UTSA and landed a roster spot there. He couldn’t win the place-kicking job, but handled kickoffs for UTSA, with 54 touchbacks in 88 kicks and two tackles on special teams. UTSA coach Jeff Traylor had lost his kicker to Oklahoma at the end of spring drills, and said while Murphy didn’t handle field goals for the Roadrunners, he was exactly what they needed on kickoffs. “We were in desperate need,” Traylor told me. “He hadn’t played football very long, but he was a wonderful, wonderful kid. All he needed was some time on task. He did a really good job for us on kickoffs. Super human, super athlete, and his best football is still in front of him.” What made a splash was his showing at UTSA pro day last week, going 12-for-13 on field goals, connecting from as long as 70 yards, and then showing off his athleticism with a 4.50 40-yard dash. Such speed from a kicking specialist is rare, of course — Georgia’s Jake Camarda ran a 4.56 at the combine in 2022 and was a fourth-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, spending two years as their punter. Murphy ran the 40 and did the vertical and broad jump with other UTSA draft prospects, and said scouts walked up to him and asked him if he would run the “L drill” or three-cone drill, which can show agility and quickness. He did them, and the same scouts asked if he would be comfortable doing positional drills as a defensive back, a position he’d never played or practiced at. “I’m a kicker, but I can also be an athlete, so I’d love to,” said Murphy, who borrowed gloves from a teammate and went through drills, acknowledging his footwork may not be the best. “I just wanted to go out and have some fun, and they reminded me I had nothing to lose.” Jacob Enns, a trainer and kicking specialist in Tampa who has worked with Murphy over the past three years, said he was making field goals from 71 yards in their second workout together, showing a natural talent for long-range kicking. “When he kicked off, the comments on his Twitter posts were ‘This kid kicks like a Madden kicker,’ because it looked just like a video game,” Enns told me. “Now, hopefully, he’ll be able to do that at the next level. … A lot of it is God-given ability, and he has that aspect of it. When we started this journey, he told me [the NFL] was his goal. He’s doing the same thing he’s done each step of the way, trusting God to open the right door. He’s going to keep working hard to earn his spot.” Murphy is working on getting his accuracy to match his strength, and he’ll need to show teams he can handle the pressure of game-on-the-line kicks in real, high-level situations. In the last game Murphy kicked a field goal, the announced attendance was 250, which came during his time at Erie College. NFL kickers come in all sizes. Daniel Carlson of the Las Vegas Raiders is 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, while Jake Elliott of the Philadelphia Eagles is 5-9 and 167. Murphy measured at 6-1, 180 pounds at his pro day, and said he “hopefully can change the way kickers are viewed in the NFL.” He’s gifted with a strong leg, but how does athleticism help a kicker? That could be in coverage after a kickoff, in the potential for trick-play gimmickry on field goals and extra points. Murphy is unlikely to get drafted next month, but could land with an NFL team as an undrafted free agent or as a tryout player for rookie minicamp. If a strong-legged soccer player with little to no college football experience becoming an NFL kicker seems far-fetched, it shouldn’t be. Cowboys star Brandon Aubrey, now a three-time Pro Bowl selection, played soccer at Notre Dame and in the MLS before trying football with two years in the USFL before he landed in Dallas. An even closer parallel is Lions kicker Jake Bates, who played college soccer and did kickoffs only at Texas State and Arkansas, then played a year in the UFL before making the cut with Detroit. “I love their game, love what they do, and I felt like I could go and do something that’s never been done before, whether that’s kicking or being utilized out on the field as well,” Murphy told me. Traylor said the interest from scouts was strong enough that he’ll have demand from NFL teams, either during or after the draft, but he’s eager to see what he can do on a larger platform. “Great teammate, high IQ. I’m a big fan,” Traylor told me. “He’s going to get into a camp. He’s probably got about 20 opportunities right now. We’ll see how long he lasts, but he’ll get into a camp.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The warning comes from about every coach, every player each March — heck, in any sport as the stakes are raised as the games carry more gravitas — don’t look too far ahead. Worry about the next practice, the next game, not what could happen down the road. Then there’s Dan Hurley. The two-time national champion UConn coach seems to be reinforcing his classic brash ways by sharing his focus for Friday’s Sweet 16 game in the NCAA Tournament against Michigan State with the prospects of an Elite Eight matchup against St. John’s. Just like any East Coast fan or gambler who filled out a bracket this season, Hurley can’t help but follow the lines in the East Regional and see what a Huskies’ win against Tom Izzo’s team could get them — a rematch in Washington with two-time reigning Big East season and tournament champions, St. John’s. Coach Rick Pitino has the tougher task between Hurley and his Big East rivals — at least on paper — in getting the Red Storm past top-seeded Duke. [MEN’S BRACKET: NCAA Tournament Bracket, Leaders & Stats] Hurley, though, has a plea — the fanbases need to rally together for one night and root for their rivals so there is a chance for a fourth game this season between the schools, this time with a spot in the Final Four at stake. “It will be a live building. It’s probably a little bit early, but obviously, I think we’ve got to support each other,” Hurley said. “It’s pretty brutal on Twitter, I think, and socials between our fan bases, but I think we have to try to come together Friday night against our opponent so we can have a bloodbath on Sunday.” Hurley noted “it stinks a little bit” that two conference teams are set to potentially play in the regional final rather than in a Final Four. St. John’s took two of three meetings this season against UConn, the second being a 20-point win in the Big East Tournament title game. The Feb. 25 blowout loss at UConn stands as St. John’s lone setback since standing at 9-5 as of Jan. 3, with the Red Storm beating Northern Iowa and Kansas in the tournament. UConn started 22-1 but closed the regular season on a 7-4 stretch, a pedestrian record for a program that won consecutive national championships in 2023 and 2024. The Huskies rebounded with wins over Furman and UCLA in first- and second-round games last weekend in Philadelphia to reach their 17th Sweet 16. (The Huskies beat Michigan State in an exhibition game in late October.) Maybe it was playing in the East Coast that stirred up questions and comments about a St. John’s-UConn showdown before it could even happen. Duke is a comfortable 6.5-point favorite to beat fifth-seeded St. John’s while the Huskies are just 1.5-point favorites to beat Michigan State, per BetMGM Sportsbook. If both Big East teams win, look out, the home of the Wizards and Capitals could look and sound a bit like Madison Square Garden in conference tourney time. “I think it speaks to the quality of what us and St. John’s are this year,” Hurley said. “I think they’re a great team. I think we’re a great team. I think it was much needed.” Winning two games in the NCAA Tournament were much needed for UConn a year after it was bounced by Florida in the second round. The Gators would win the national championship — yet there’s no repeat this season after they were bounced by Iowa. [NCAA ODDS: Latest Men’s March Madness Odds, Favorites] The Huskies are back in their proper spot among college basketball’s hierarchy. They can thank Tarris Reed Jr. and Alex Karaban for getting the Huskies back to the Sweet 16. Reed had 31 points and 27 rebounds, the kind of sensational stat line not seen in the NCAA Tournament in nearly 60 years, in the opener against Furman. Karaban scored a career-high 27 points in the second round against UCLA. Karaban is a fourth-year senior in a career spent all at UConn — a rarity in today’s instant transfer, greater riches game — and a third national title would rank him with the players of John Wooden’s UCLA heyday in the rarified air of players with three rings. “I think he can just take us wherever we need to go,” UConn guard Braylon Mullins said. “We all have the confidence with him and he’s our leader. We all look up to him. He holds the standard with this program.” The Huskies hope they’ll be closer to full strength in the Sweet 16. Silas Demary Jr., a first team All-Big East selection, returned to the lineup against UCLA and played 22 minutes after he sustained an ankle injury in the Big East Tournament. Jaylin Stewart again sat out both tournament games with a knee injury that’s sidelined him since late February. The deeper the Huskies, the better shot they have at going deep in the tournament — and maybe get that date with Pitino and St. John’s. Reporting by The Associated Press.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports