5 dark horse candidates to land Duke QB Maalik Murphy out of the transfer portal

With news of Maalik Murphy back in the transfer portal, it is anyone's guess as to where the former Duke and Texas quarterback could end up. He is probably only leaving Durham for a better opportunity to be had in the Power Four. After all, he did come to Duke right around this time a year ago to play for incoming head coach Manny Diaz. Duke went 9-3 during his lone season on the team.

While I wrote about places where Murphy could come in and help these contenders win national titles at earlier today, what about the dark horse component of it all? After all, it was strange that Murphy left Texas right before last year's College Football Playoff run to go play for Duke. He probably wanted a Power Four starting opportunity after being sandwiched between Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning.

Although my best guess as to why Murphy is leaving Durham is over NIL and bigger or better opportunities elsewhere, be careful what you wish for after entering the portal. The grass is not always greener on the other side. With that being said, I think there are a handful of places where Murphy could end up that should be packaged more than just a lateral move. These fits are intriguing.

Here are five dark horse contenders that I think have a puncher's chance at landing Murphy for 2025.

5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame could have just as easily been one of the places where Murphy could come in, establish himself and lead a national title contender right away in 2025. However, I have a strange feeling that Notre Dame is a potential pull-back candidate next season. The Fighting Irish are in the College Football Playoff now, but as somewhat of an unproven team at 11-1 and not playing in a conference.

My thought here is Riley Leonard could turn pro and Murphy replaces him for a second time. Notre Dame is infinitely more likely to make the playoff over Duke in the ACC. We know that if Murphy can get into schools like Texas and Duke that he can play anywhere in the country from an academic standpoint. Where I do have some pushback is the coaching staff still being in place for next season.

There is a chance that Marcus Freeman could leave or better yet, Mike Denbrock be scapegoated.

4. Auburn Tigers

Who knows what Auburn is going to try do to at the quarterback position? It is not going to be Payton Thorne again. While they might still pursue former Oklahoma starter Jackson Arnold, they have been tied to former Stanford starter Ashton Daniels as well. Although the idea of Arnold is still captivating, I would go for broke by seeing what kind of offer YellaWood and Apple could put together for Murphy.

As a fan and alum of one of Auburn's biggest rivals, I would not want to face Murphy at any point in the next two years in the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry between the Tigers and the Dawgs. He was trusted to come in and win games backing up Quinn Ewers last year. Murphy then went to Duke and won nine games. The Blue Devils were this close toward upsetting SMU and getting to a 10-2 record.

Murphy to Auburn would not only help Hugh Freeze keep his job, but could get the Tigers to Atlanta!

3. Vanderbilt Commodores

It pains me to write this, but we only get one more game of The Live Dog Diego Pavia anchoring down with the Vanderbilt Commodores. Pavia became an SEC legend for helping Vanderbilt go bowling in a season where their schedule suggested that they would only go 3-9. Pavia is probably going to fight for one more year of eligibility. If he cannot come back, then I would pursue Murphy very aggressively.

Vanderbilt might actually be one of the best landing spots for Murphy in the SEC. This is an ascending team, one that is playing with a ton of confidence under Clark Lea. As it is with any school potentially in the mix for him, Murphy can get into Vanderbilt and handle the academic rigors of all it. More importantly, Vanderbilt would have the ability to build on this past year's success with Murphy joining.

Vanderbilt may feel like a lateral move from Duke, but VU can offer one thing Duke cannot: The SEC.

2. Syracuse Orange

This one has my intrigue. What if Kyle McCord only plays on year at Syracuse? I understand that he has strong ties to Fran Brown and the university, but the NFL could be beckoning for the former five-star recruit out of Philadelphia. I would ride it out at SU if I were McCord, but I do not have millions of dollars potentially being thrown my way at the next level. I would entertain Syracuse if I were Murphy.

We know that Murphy has no issues moving the sticks and making a name for himself in the ACC. One could argue that the Orange are a sneaky-good pick to potentially get to Charlotte next season, so long as the quarterback play does not drop off. Again, Murphy only goes to Syracuse if McCord leaves, but I also do not think he will be as up-and-down as McCord has been throughout his career.

If Syracuse is a dark horse contender to win the ACC next season, then maybe they have a shot?

1. Ole Miss Rebels

This is not about Lane Kiffin letting us know that Murphy has entered the transfer portal. Then again, this might actually be the perfect landing spot for him. Jaxson Dart will be turning pro after having exhausted his collegiate eligibility. This was supposed to be the year where Ole Miss contended for a national title. They may have beaten Georgia and South Carolina, but they also finished the year 9-3.

Kiffin has a reputation for being a sorcerer in the transfer portal. Murphy is seemingly ripe for the picking. We are talking about one of the best transfer portal landing spots in the country, year in and year out, coinciding with one of the best entrants into the transfer portal market at quarterback in Murphy. Given that Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian hail from the same coaching tree, I can see this for sure.

Ole Miss may not be as good of a team next season, but they would remain very steady with Murphy.