Plaxico Burress lends hand to Gator WR

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Louis Murphy has come a long way in four years at the University of Florida.

He began his career as a highly recruited bench-warmer, barely playing as a freshman and earning a spot in Urban Meyer’s doghouse for disciplinary reasons.

Four years later, Murphy is a senior captain, the Gators’ leading receiver with 611 yards and playing for his second national championship when Florida faces Oklahoma this week at Dolphin Stadium.

“How far as he come? About as far as any guy I’ve ever coached,” Urban Meyer said last week. “He’s a graduate, he’s a champion and he’s going to go play in the NFL. I’m very proud of him.”

Meyer is even more proud of the way Murphy has handled himself since Valentine’s Day of 2008.

It hasn’t been easy.

Murphy’s world came crashing down that day when his mother, Filomena, died of breast cancer at 47.

“That’s mommy’s boy,” said his older sister, Chiriga Murphy. “They were very close. He’s the only one that could get Mom to say ‘yes’ when it was ‘no.’”

On the outside, Murphy tried to keep it together. He went to class and lifted weights with his teammates, keeping his pain to himself. But during the Gators’ spring practice in April, he was clearly affected by his loss.

“He couldn’t catch a ball. He wasn’t running the routes right. He wasn’t doing anything right,” said Chiriga, 24. “And that was the breaking point for him.”

Just as thoughts of quitting the team crossed his mind, Murphy got a call from Giants receiver Plaxico Burress, who is friends with several Gators through a hometown connection with Percy Harvin.

Burress called Murphy just to check in, but ended up being a shoulder for Murphy to cry on.

Burress was suspended by the Giants and has legal problems relating to an unlicensed gun, but the Murphys are forever grateful for the way Burress helped the Gators receiver.

“We got to know the real Plaxico,” said Louis Murphy Sr., a pastor at Mount Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church in St. Petersburg, Fla. “All I know is the Plaxico that reached out to my son and tried to encourage him when he was going through a rough time.”

After that phone call in April, Burress put Murphy in touch with Super Bowl hero David Tyree, whose mother died at the end of 2007, less than two months before Tyree’s championship-defining catch.

Tyree offered more encouragement, telling Murphy to keep his faith in God and use football as an outlet for his frustrations.

“They helped me out. I love them, man,” Murphy said. “David Tyree, he’s like a brother to me.”

Over Christmas break, the Murphys threw a graduation party for Louis at his father’s church. Murphy wasn’t expecting any surprises, but Tyree attended as a special guest speaker. He spoke about how proud he was of Murphy for persevering, and to watch out for the pitfalls that come with NFL celebrity.

“It brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart,” Murphy said. “For David Tyree, out of everybody, to come to my graduation, it meant the whole world.”

Murphy finished the regular season with 36 catches for 611 yards, and pointed to the sky in honor of his mother for each of his six touchdown catches.

Now he gets another crack at a national championship, and in three months should be a mid-round pick in the NFL Draft.

His mother’s death has helped put everything in perspective.

“You know how young guys are, boastful, talking trash,” Chiriga Murphy said. “But when my mother passed you could see his maturity level, he calmed down a lot. He really just took care of business and got focused. I think now he appreciates his opportunity more than ever.”

Ben Volin writes for The Palm Beach Post. E-mail: bvolin(at)pbpost.com.

Story Filed By Cox Newspapers For Use By Clients of the New York Times News Service