There are high school football prospects. Then there are generational athletes. And then there’s Eddie Murphy.
No, not the comedian — though the 17-year-old phenom’s otherworldly rise to stardom has certainly drawn comparisons to the Hollywood icon’s meteoric success. But this Eddie Murphy doesn’t crack jokes. He cracks helmets, crushes records, and draws thousands of fans just to watch him warm up. Standing an astonishing 8 feet, 6 inches tall — yes, you read that correctly — Murphy has become the most talked-about high school football player in American history. With a wingspan longer than a goalpost and a stride that eats up entire hash marks, the Louisiana native has captivated coaches, media, and college football fans alike with a combination of raw power, uncanny balance, and surprising agility.
At first glance, it all sounds like folklore. A teenager standing taller than any NBA player in history, weighing in at a shredded 420 pounds with the footwork of a ballet dancer and the field awareness of an NFL linebacker. But Eddie Murphy is not a myth. He’s real, and he’s dominating on a level the sport has never seen.
His position? That’s a trick question — he plays all of them. He lines up as a tight end on offense, a defensive end and nose tackle on defense, and sometimes — for reasons that defy logic and leave opposing coaches muttering — he’s even called upon to return punts. Why? Because when you’re 8.5 feet tall and run a 4.45 forty-yard dash, anything is possible.
Murphy’s stats are absurd. In his junior year alone, he caught 38 touchdowns, recorded 117 sacks, blocked 14 field goals, and had 9 pick-sixes — one of which involved him leaping over three linemen and running the final 60 yards backwards while waving to the crowd. There’s viral footage of him hurtling down the sideline, stiff-arming two defenders into the concession stand, and flipping into the end zone like a gymnast landing a dismount. It would seem scripted — except there were five college scouts watching from the press box that night, all of whom filed evaluations that read like scouting fiction.
“He’s not just the best prospect I’ve ever seen,” one SEC scout said, shaking his head in disbelief. “He’s the best anything I’ve ever seen.”
But perhaps the most intriguing part of Murphy’s saga isn’t his physical gifts or his alien-like dominance on the field — it’s his mind. Sharp, reserved, and charismatic in his own quiet way, Murphy isn’t the loud, self-promoting recruit we’ve come to expect in the NIL era. He speaks with intention, measures his words, and seems acutely aware of how much attention follows his every move.
And make no mistake — every move is followed. The moment he posted a picture in an LSU hoodie, the internet broke. When he visited Georgia, security had to escort him through a sea of barking fans. Tennessee offered him a record NIL package worth an estimated $11.2 million, complete with a customized orange Ford F-750 — and he still declined.
Why? Because Eddie Murphy wants to be an LSU Tiger.
“I’ve always been about loyalty and energy,” he said in a rare one-on-one interview. “And there’s something about LSU — the people, the culture, the fight — it just speaks to me. I feel like I’d be playing for something bigger than myself.”
His commitment hasn’t been made official, but all signs point to Baton Rouge. LSU coaches have reportedly made weekly trips to Murphy’s hometown of Hammond, Louisiana, just to sit with his family and watch game film over gumbo. Head coach Brian Kelly has kept details quiet, but insiders say LSU has moved “heaven and earth” to ensure Murphy wears purple and gold.
And why wouldn’t they?
Beyond his freakish frame and once-in-a-century measurables, Murphy is also a 4.0 student with a love for poetry, a knack for playing the saxophone, and an ambitious dream to one day open a charter school focused on athletics and leadership.
“He’s got the heart of a leader and the body of a gladiator,” said his high school coach, Robert Doucet. “You’ll never see another Eddie Murphy again. There’s no one like him.”
Murphy has already inspired changes to the way scouts evaluate talent. One recruiting service had to redesign its metrics to accommodate his vertical reach. Helmet manufacturers have been working with engineers to develop custom headgear. Stadiums have modified locker rooms to accommodate his 8’5” frame. When he visited Tennessee in April, the Vols had to remove ceiling tiles so he could walk comfortably through the Neyland Stadium tunnel.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart called Murphy “a once-in-forever” player. Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said he’d “trade a year’s salary just for a handshake deal.” But none of it swayed the giant teenager. LSU remains the clear favorite.
His loyalty to his home state has only endeared him further to fans, who’ve dubbed him “Bayou Everest” — a mountain of a man with Louisiana roots and Tiger blood in his veins. Murphy embraces the nickname with a grin, but never lets it go to his head.
“I just want to get better,” he said. “At everything. Football, school, life. I know God made me this way for a reason, and I don’t want to waste it.”
Murphy’s fame has ballooned to international levels. He’s been featured on ESPN, The New York Times, and GQ. Nike has reportedly designed a one-off cleat called the “EM8.5,” custom-fit for his colossal feet. Social media accounts track his daily meals (usually 9,000 calories) and share training clips where he bench presses trucks, squats tractor tires, and does yoga poses on one leg — all while listening to Miles Davis.
Yet through it all, Eddie remains grounded.
He still rides his bike around town, albeit on a custom-made steel-frame behemoth. He tutors younger teammates in geometry. He visits elementary schools and reads aloud to classrooms of stunned children who look up — way up — to their hometown hero. And he signs every autograph with the same message: “Dream tall. Think taller.”
