7/10/2020 football Edit

BeaversEdge Top 25 for 2020: No. 19 Andrzej Hughes-Murray

Brenden Slaughter • BeaversEdge

Publisher

In the months leading up to the start of fall camp, BeaversEdge.com will be counting down the Top 25 Oregon State football players on the 2020 roster.

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No. 49 Andrzej Hughes-Murray

6-foot-2, 260-pounds

Outside Linebacker

Redshirt Senior

Federal Way, Wash.

Federal Way HS

2019 stats: N/A didn't play due to injury

2019 Recap

Hughes-Murray didn't see the field during the 2019 campaign as the Federal Way, Wash. native missed the entire season while recovering from a broken foot suffered in fall camp.

By way of not competing during the campaign, he was able to claim a redshirt season and will enter the 2020 season fully healthy entering his fifth and final season.

Looking back a little further, Hughes-Murray was a key cog in the Beavers' defense in year one of the Jonathan Smith era back in 2018 as he recorded 33 tackles (18 solo) with 5.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and one quarterback hurry. Additionally, he played in all 12 contests and started 11 of them.

2020 Outlook

Heading into the 2020 campaign, there's no doubt that Hughes-Murray will figure greatly into the Beavers' defensive plans as long as he's healthy. We haven't seen him take the field in well over a year and there will certainly be some rust as he works his way back into a groove.

The 6-foot-2, 260-pounder is one of the Beavers' most seasoned defenders on the roster as he boasts an immense experience over his career that includes 78 career tackles (47 solo) with 9.5 for a loss in 30 games, including 19 starts.

It's anyone's guess exactly how the outside linebacker rotation will shake out this season with how many bodies and relative experience the team has at the position, but there's no question that Hughes-Murray will be a key piece of the puzzle.

From the moment the new staff arrived, both Smith and defensive coordinator Tim Tibesar have lauded his leadership and defensive tenacity and there's no question his play was missed last season. Sure, it's a huge benefit long-term that the Beavers threw several new outside linebackers into the fray as a result of the devasting injuries in '19, but in the short-term, losing Hughes-Murray before the season even got underway was a tough blow.

Hughes-Murray's journey back to the field has been long and filled with ups and downs, but if he's able to return at full health for his fifth-year senior season, the sky could be the limit for both he and the defense.