Jordan Murphy, One Of The Survivors From The Colorado Movie Theatre Shooting, Is Taking His Shot At The NFL

LBS- The NFL scouting combine takes place this week and each year around this time we hear of unique stories of players chasing their dream of becoming a professional football player. This year, that story belongs to Jordan Murphy.

Murphy began his collegiate career at Colorado State before transferring to Colorado after his freshman season. During his four years he played as a fullback and on special teams. Although he did not carry the ball or catch any passes with either school, there was a brief time Murphy may not have thought his days of playing FBS football were over.

Back in the summer of 2012, Murphy was in the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado when a man entered and opened fire. 12 were killed that day and several others were injured. Murphy recently recounted the events of the day and they are chilling, to say the least.

“We ducked down, we waited a few seconds,” Murphy told ESPN. “I heard his gun click that he was out of ammunition, so we crawled as fast as we could and then stood up at the end of the row to run. I think I attracted his attention because he turned his head to me, took a shot. Don’t know if it was a shotgun or his AR-15, but the bullet hit right over my head, drywall exploded, sprayed on my face, the dust went in my eyes. At that point I’m thinking I’m not getting out, but I’m running along the way, we were getting ready to turn the corner and the bullet just smashed the drywall. They always said the reason I couldn’t play Division I as a linebacker was because I wasn’t 6-2. I’m 6 feet. If I was 6-2, I’d probably be dead because that bullet is in my head.”

Murphy was already facing an uphill battle in realizing his dream of playing for an NFL team. To stack odds against him anymore, the fullback is a position that is becoming extinct. That won’t deter Murphy from trying and it absolutely shouldn’t.



Well, this is just proof that some good can come out of the most tragic of situations. I think everyone, including Jordan Murphy, would have rather some psycho with a hero complex not opened fire on an entire movie theatre full of innocent people. However, it is pretty cool that a kid -who was mere inches away from an untimely death- gets to live his dream because of it. Look at the NFL doing the right thing for once. Giving a fullback -that would have never had the opportunity to attend the NFL combine otherwise- a shot at extending his playing days despite not having a carry or a catch throughout four years of college football. Maybe his stats don't warrant him being there, but his perseverance certainly does. Are the odds against him to turn this into an extensive NFL career? Absolutely, but at least he has a chance, and that's a chance he wouldn't have had before he was lucky enough to slip out those cinema doors alive. At the end of the day the NFL is a business, and all that will matter is if this kid can perform on the field. With that said, I know there's at least twelve families that will be joining in on rooting for him, because this is pretty much the only positive to come from the deaths of their loved ones at the hands of a coward with an itchy trigger finger.