UTSA Football
You’d be excused if you’ve never heard the name Jaffer Murphy while preparing for the 2026 NFL Draft. After all, Murphy played for little-known UT-San Antonio, and only saw the field as a kickoff specialist in 2025.
But with the days counting down until the draft in Pittsburgh, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound kicker out of Marion. Iowa is quickly becoming one of the most intriguing prospects in the draft.
So, how does anyone, let alone a kickoff specialist, go from complete unknown to hot commodity in just a matter of days? Well, he can thank one of the most impressive pro days you’ll probably ever see.
Jaffer Murphy Stunned Scouts At UTSA’s Pro Day
In total, 17 athletes took part in UTSA’s Pro Day last week, but it was Murphy that turned the most heads.
First, he showed off in the kicking portion of his program, nailing 12-of-13 kicks, including a long of 70 yards. But it was during the athletic testing portion of the day that Murphy really turned heads.
Can your kicker do this?! 🤔#210TriangleOfToughness | #BuiltByUTSA pic.twitter.com/7XWXrZGPuW
— UTSA Football 🏈 (@UTSAFTBL) March 19, 2026
According to a post by UTSA Football on X, Murphy ran an eye-popping 4.50 40-yard dash, with one scout having him as low as 4.47 on the stopwatch.
By comparison, Marshall Koehn of Iowa has the fastest recorded 40 time by a kicker at the NFL Scouting Combine. Koehn ran a 4.61 40-yard dash in 2016.
Now, you may be wondering to yourself, “Why does it even matter how fast a kicker can run?”
But with the current NFL kickoff rules, it’s as valuable as ever to have a kickoff specialist who can run in case the opposing kick return breaks through the initial line of kick coverage.
Ultimately, Murphy is still probably looking at an undrafted free agent contract when it’s all said and done. But that’s a lot more than anybody expected before his impressive pro day showing.