How WR Donovan Murph is preparing to start South Carolina football career
Most of his South Carolina football teammates have been busy practicing this spring. Donovan Murph has done his best not to get behind.
Murph, who is wrapping up his final weeks at Irmo High School so he can graduate next month, won’t arrive on USC’s campus until May 26. Still, he’s stayed busy as he gets ready to be a Gamecock.
Murph attended most of USC’s spring practices, sat in on meetings and was on the sidelines at Williams-Brice Stadium for Friday’s spring game. He’s also been working out on his own, which included a spring break trip to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the second year.
While in Florida, Murph worked out at Gold Feet Global to help fine-tune his game. Those workouts last year included training with Miami Dolphins receiver Jalyn Waddle. This year, it was with Donovan Peoples-Jones, a five-year NFL veteran receiver who played last season with the Detroit Lions.
“There are NFL guys there, so it is great to surround myself with those guys and continue to get better,” Murph said last week before he won the S.C. Football Hall of Fame’s Bridge Builder award for on- and off-the-field accomplishments. “I learned a lot of just attention to details. I know my game has brought me to this level, but on the next level it is, how can I separate myself doing the little things? DPJ kind of put me onto a lot of those things with helping crisp up my routes to get open.”
Murph is part of the Gamecocks’ six-member freshman receiving class that Shane Beamer and receivers coach Mike Furrey signed. The others are Malik Clark, Lex Cyrus, Jordan Gidron, Brian Rowe and Jayden Sellers. All but Murph enrolled early in January. The group showed their play-making ability in the spring game with Clark catching a TD pass and Rowe and Sellers leading in receiving.
Murph wasn’t able to join the others as he worked to finish up high school. He and Gidron are bypassing his senior seasons of high school to enroll in college a year early. Gidron also was a local product at nearby Ridge View High.
Still, he feels he’ll be ready to make an impact when he arrives next month.
“I haven’t missed much,” Murph said. “Sat in meetings and got with the nutrition people. I don’t feel I am behind. I got the playbook and am learning what everyone else is learning.
“I see the guys getting better each day and Coach Furrey is a great motivator and teacher. I learned a lot from them. This spring, I have been taking mental reps.”
Murph had a breakout season in 2024 in helping Irmo to the Class 5A Division II championship game. Catching passes from Virginia Tech QB signee AJ Brand, Murph led the team with 96 receptions for 1,328 yards and 12 touchdowns. He hauled in eight passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns in the title game against Northwestern. In 2023, the Irmo standout caught 57 passes for 1,087 yards and school-record 17 TDs.
247Sports and On3 recruiting services rank Murph as a four-star prospect and in the top 25 in the country for his position. He was selected for the Under Armour All-American Game, where he publicly announced his choice to attend South Carolina.
Murph has ties to the USC program. His cousin Alshon Jeffery played for the Gamecocks before his nine-year NFL career. Jeffery had his jersey retired by the school in 2023
Murph is ready to get his college career going and said Jeffery has been giving him pointers about his game.
“I have been watching his game lately,” Murph said of watching film of his cousin’s ability. “We have a lot of similarities especially with his hands. He was aggressive with the ball in the air. That is kind of what I like to implement in my game a lot.”
