Chaminade QB Tim Murphy is Newsday's Athlete of the Week

First-year Chaminade coach Tom Claro could recognize Tim Murphy’s ability to lead the team before he even stepped on the field.

“From the first time I met him, I quickly realized that Tim was a leader on the team,” Claro said. “As a first-time head coach, you’re kind of introduced to the whole team, and I could tell instantly from his work ethic, and the way the rest of the team looked up to him that he would be someone I can rely on.”

Last season, Murphy was used as a “Wildcat quarterback,” only seeing the field a handful of times during the season.

“They’d use me for a couple of runs every couple of games, but I didn’t really play much at all,” Murphy said.

Now, Murphy has claimed the starting quarterback position for his senior season, something he’s been working hard for throughout the offseason.

“I’ve been working pretty much every day over the offseason,” Murphy said. “Even when it was cold outside, I’d go on the field and throw with my wide receivers, just getting in some work. I just want to prove to everyone what I can do.”

Murphy began his football journey in seventh grade and said from the beginning, he always felt like he belonged at the quarterback position.

“I love that the ball is in my hands,” Murphy said. “Every play, I feel like I’m in control. And I feel like, if it came down to it, and we needed something big to happen, I like the pressure.”

Claro said that even though there are other great quarterbacks on his team when it came to picking a starter, Murphy’s leadership made him the obvious choice.

“It was sort of an easy decision to make him quarterback one,” Claro said. “Because of what he was doing and just who is is as a person, I knew that he was the guy I wanted to hand the ball to on game one this year.”

So far, Murphy has proven he’s worthy of the title. Last weekend, Chaminade faced rival St. Anthony’s for their season-opener — a team they’ve beaten just twice in their last 13 meetings.

Even after suffering from a dislocated finger on his throwing hand just two days earlier, Murphy threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Peter Braz and added a 1-yard scoring run to help the Flyers defeat the Friars, 31-28, in the CHSFL AAA matchup.

“It feels amazing to open our season on a win,” Murphy said. “But, to be honest, I expected nothing less from this team.”

Last year, Chaminade finished 1-8, a record Murphy hopes to turn around.

“We struggled a lot last season,” Murphy said. “I think we really lacked leadership.”

Murphy is ready to take on that role.

“I want to lead by example,” Murphy said. “A lot of people are doubting us, but I think we’re going to have a great season. I think we’re one of the most underrated teams in New York.”