MaxPreps Weekly Honor Roll, presented by the United States Marine Corps: Jacob Murphree, Dickson County

Jacob Murphree is the epitome of a coach's kid. He's hard working, a student of the game and easy to coach.

And there are so many more superlatives that can describe Murphree.The senior at Dickson County (Dickson, Tenn.) was a leader on the football team as the starting quarterback for three years – where his dad, Randy, is the head coach. Now he is currently enjoying a strong final season on the basketball court.

"His dad's a very blue-collar kind of coach," Dickson County boys basketball coach Jason Tigert said. "(Jacob's) going to get in there and coach himself, he's not going to delegate a lot. Well organized. Timely, like I said. All of those things you can see Jacob has embraced."

Being a coach's kid has shaped Murphree into who he is as an athlete as well as his desire to succeed in the classroom.

"You can see that he spends a lot of time watching film and thinking about the game," Tigert said. "He's always one that's well prepared. It's obvious on Friday night."

It's on the football field where Murphree made a name for himself. He was a wide receiver and backup quarterback in middle school, and he didn't get any snaps behind center until he was a freshman after the starting quarterback in middle school didn't go out for the sport. Murphree started on the freshman team and moved up to junior varsity midway through the year. Stepping in as a sophomore, Murphree earned the starting nod.

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The 6-foot-2, 188-pound youngster was thrown into the mix at the fast-paced varsity level. He had to face some defenders who were two years older, bigger, stronger and with more experience on the field. But that didn't rattle him one bit.

"It was tough, but I kind of went into the year with nothing to lose, I guess," Murphree said. "I didn't play scared and I just went out there and had fun."

Dickson County traditionally ran a wing-T offense, but opened up the playbook with Murphree at the helm. The team's air raid spread offense offered a run-pass option in which the sophomore quarterback threw for a school record 903 yards to go with nine touchdowns.

Murphree's numbers skyrocketed as a junior, going 168-for-324 for 2,542 yards and 27 touchdowns. In his final season, Murphree padded his stats, going 199-for-324 for 3,202 yards and 28 scores.

Football is his favorite sport, but he's also a key player on the basketball team.

"You never want to get burned out on a sport. I like to mix it up," Murphree said. "Basketball has certainly helped me with football -- vice versa just being quick, competing really."

"Every kid's going to like one sport over another, but the best way to approach an offseason is to compete," Tigert said. "And by playing multiple sports you can do that and your main sport doesn't become something that you dread because you're doing it year-round. (Jacob) is one that has really used basketball to make his football game better."

Murphree got in the starting lineup on the court as a sophomore and has been a key contributor ever since. It's on the defensive side of the ball where he really thrives.

Coach Tigert notes Murphree has embraced the role of being assigned each game to the opponent's top scorer.

"On the defensive side, he's one that has been extremely valuable to us," Tigert said. "That doesn't show up a lot of times in the papers or in the stat lines, but coaches know that Jacob's a good defender."

Murphree is a leader on the football team as well as in basketball. He lets his actions speak for him on the field and court.

"He's not the most vocal leader, but he's more of a blue-collar type of kid," Tigert said. "Just really loves to go to work and doesn't mind the grind of practice. He's definitely earned what he's gotten."

When spring rolls around, Murphree is planning to compete on the track and field team, looking to stay in shape for his first season of college football in the fall. He is getting offers from plenty of NAIA Division II and III schools, including Ohio Dominican, Tusculum, Missouri Baptist and Birmingham Southern. He would like to major in sports management and become a college football.

Murphree is taking all honors courses in his final year of high school and is chalking up great grades with a 3.44 GPA.

"Great kid. Tremendous student-athlete," Tigert said. "Had him in class. A kid that really leads by example."

Competing in sports is very important to Murphree, but so is being a well-rounded in the classroom.

"Academics first for sure," Murphree said. "At the end of the day, football doesn't last forever. I've got to get a good education."

Murphree also has taken part in two clubs for the last two years: Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Future Business Leaders of America.

Outside of school, he makes sure he always volunteers to help out with football and basketball camps for young area athletes. He loves teaching students of the game and watching them succeed.

"It's awesome," Murphree said. "It makes you feel a lot better about yourself knowing you helped somebody -- better somebody for the future."

Murphree knows a lot of young kids look up to him and listen to what he has to say since he's the face of the football program after starting three years at quarterback. He embraces being a role model.

"Just try to get as much out of them as possible," Murphree said. "Make sure that if you want to do it, just give it your all and there's no need to hold back. Try to give them the same thing my parents told me."

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