reilly murphy new hire

Football Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Murphy Joins Coaching Staff as Offensive Coordinator

ERIE, Pa. – Gannon University head football coach Erik Raeburn today announced the hiring of Reilly Murphy as offensive coordinator. Murphy will also coach the wide receivers. He has a deep history as an offensive coordinator, holding the position at no fewer than four schools, along with background as a head coach.
 
"We are excited to add Reilly Murphy to our staff," exclaimed Raeburn. "As a former head coach, his experience will benefit not only our players but our coaching staff as well. He led Lake Erie College to many record-setting performances and we look forward to him doing the same here."
 
Murphy takes over an offense that returns Melvin Blanks (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills), the second-leading rusher in the PSAC with 1,187 yards, along with quarterback Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla.), who threw for 2,255 yards and 20 TDs. 
 
Murphy most recently served as the head coach at Lake Erie College from 2019 to 2021.  His third season proved his best. In fact, The Storm had its best season as an NCAA Division II program, finishing with a 5-6 record. That included a 3-0 start with all three wins coming on the road. In the top win of the season, Lake Erie won at Hillsdale, 33-14.
 
A recent selection to the AFCA 35 Under 35 program, Murphy led the program to as many wins as the previous five years combined. In 2019, Lake Erie was 3-8. He picked up his first career victory with a 49-42 over Kentucky Wesleyan on September 28, 2019.
 
Murphy has enjoyed a diverse coaching career. Prior to heading to northeast Ohio as the head coach at Lake Erie, Murphy served as the offensive coordinator, quarterbacks and running backs coach at Fayetteville State in 2018. The Broncos advanced to the CIAA championship game after winning the conference's Southern Division. They ranked among the top offenses in the country with an average of 32.3 points per game while rushing for 216 yards per contest, good for 26th in Division II. Fayetteville State ended the year with a 6-3 record.
 
Prior to that he was as the offensive coordinator at Dixie State, another Division II school in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. The 2016 squad finished with a 6-5 record, the first winning season in school history. That team also set a school record for rushing yards with 2,396 yards. 
 
Murphy joined the Dixie State staff after a successful two-year stint at another Division II school, Western New Mexico. He was the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for the Mustangs. His arrival at WNMU propelled the team to national success with top 10 offenses nationally in back-to-back seasons. 
 
With Murphy as his mentor, quarterback Mitch Glasmann finished the season ranked seventh in the country in total offensive yards per game (341.1). He passed for (344.4) yards per game which ranked second nationally. His final total of 3,444 passing yards ranked him sixth in the country in total passing yards. In 2015 he eclipsed the career all-time Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference record for most TD passes and passing yards for a career. 
 
WNMU had a pair of standouts at wide receiver. Xavier Ayers finished second in the country in total receiving yards with a school-record 1,356 yards. He was fifth in Division II in total receptions. Larry Young added 990 yards receiving and the duo finished one-two in the RMAC in receptions and receiving yards.  Ayres was named a second team Associated Press Little-All American.
 
The prolific Mustangs' offense also had a 1,000-yard rusher in Marques Rodgers, who ranked 14th in Division II with 1,283 yards rushing. He added 638 yards receiving.
 
Murphy's 2015 offense averaged 32.3 points per game and finished seventh in the country in total offense with 5,379 yards. The Mustangs averaged 354.3 yards per game passing which ranked as the third top passing offense in the country.
 
In 2014, Murphy's offense was ranked near the top in almost every offensive category. WNMU set school records for most points in a season (377) and most yards (5,606). The Mustangs were the only team in the country who passed for over 3,600 yards and rushed for over 1,980 yards, ranking ninth in the nation in total offense (509.6), and tenth in yards per game passing (329.4).
 
Murphy served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Bethel College (Kan) in 2013. North Newton, Kan. Prior to Murphy's arrival, in 2012 Bethel's football team was winless and had the worst-ranked offense in the country. His one season at the NAIA school saw a transformation into the best offensive season in Bethel's history, setting records for points and total offense.         
 
Prior to his time at Bethel, Murphy worked at Notre Dame (Oh.) in 2012 as the quarterback and tight end coach. He began his coaching career as the quarterbacks and tight ends coach in 2010 and 2011 at Grossmont College, a junior college in California. 
 
During his playing career, Murphy played quarterback at Grossmont, leading the Griffins to a national championship in 2005, he was named to the Academic All-American team and was awarded the Joe Roth Memorial award. This award is given annually to a California Junior College football player who best exemplifies characteristics of leadership, humility, and class. He was then granted a scholarship to Indiana State University where he was a two-year starter and was named to the Gateway Conference's Newcomer of the Year Team in 2006.
 
Murphy earned his bachelor's degree in Radio-Television-Film Communication from Indiana State in 2008. He went on to attend law school at Thomas Jefferson Law School in San Diego, Calif. He and his wife Caylyn have three children – son Griffin (3) and daughters Lynley (2) and Avery (6 months).
 
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Players Mentioned

Melvin Blanks

#2 Melvin Blanks

RB
6' 0"
Junior
Business
Kory Curtis

#17 Kory Curtis

QB
6' 4"
Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Melvin Blanks

#2 Melvin Blanks

6' 0"
Junior
Business
RB
Kory Curtis

#17 Kory Curtis

6' 4"
Redshirt Sophomore
QB