The Backbone of the Fighting Irish, Brendan Murphy

After losing to Kennewick in the quarterfinals last season, it only fueled the fire for senior linebacker Brendan Murphy.

Murphy’s strong start as first year linebacker and captain for the O’Dea Fighting Irish has proven him to be a powerhouse player in the Metro League, and the state of Washington. After completing an 8-tackle performance in a 22-0 blowout against the Rainer Beach Vikings, he has high expectations for himself, and the team, for the remainder of the season.

“Ultimately I want to leave going undefeated, winning Metro, and win a state championship,” Murphy said ab0ut the legacy he wants to leave at O’Dea.

Murphy is on track to secure the legacy he strives for at O’Dea as he leads the Fighting Irish defense to a perfect performance against the Vikings this past Friday at Lumen Field. Pushing the Fighting Irish to a perfect 3-0 record onto the 2022 season.

He adopted football into his life early in 4th grade and it has become a part of his life he cannot detach. After taking his middle school years off to focus on playing basketball, which he continues as a player for the varsity basketball team at O’Dea, he came to O’Dea with ignited passion for the game.

His career at O’Dea took a turn when he was switched from safety to linebacker for his senior year. Gaining a substantial amount of weight along with exceedingly improving in the weight room, Murphy has set himself up to star at the linebacker position.

That is not the only change that Murphy has endured going into his senior season. On top of switching positions, he has also accepted the responsibility of being a captain for the Irish adding into the mix.

“Last year I was not involved as much leadership wise on the field, now being a linebacker and a captain, I am a lot more involved in games, practices and lifting,” Murphy explained.

He has taken in his new roles incredibly well. Leading the Irish defense to help the team advance to a solid 3-0 start to the season which includes wins over the Bothell Cougars 21-13, Bishop Blanchet Bears 54-10, and the Rainer Beach Vikings 22-0. The rest of the season looks promising for the Irish, giving Murphy hope to finish his career at O’Dea with a state championship and a team Head Coach Monte Kohler never forgets.

After his career at O’Dea, Murphy has hopes to continue playing football at the collegiate level. He currently has interest from Big Sky schools and Ivy League institutions like Montana State University and Yale University where he wishes to pursue a degree in Business or Computer Science to set himself up for a future outside of football.

As the season continues, Murphy must come up with many more 8-tackle performances as the schedule becomes harder with memorable match ups including the Eastside Catholic Crusaders September 30th, and the Garfield Bulldogs October 21st. Both teams also hoisting a coveted 3-0 start to the season, it will be exciting to watch Murphy and the rest of the O’Dea football squad battle the remainder of their season.