Marcus Murphy played collegially at Missou. A dangerous and versatile player, Marcus scored TDs receiving, rushing, and returning punts and kicks throughout his career. He finished his college career with 357 carries for 1957 yards and 16 TDs, to go along with 50 receptions for 318 yards and 2 TDs in just 2 years. A 7th round pick of the New Orleans Saints, Murphy drafted to fill the role that Darren Sproles and Reggie Bush had before him. He spent the next two years as a return man on both kicks and punts, but couldn’t crack the runningback lineup. He’d finish with 34 kick returns for 318 yards and a 74 yard TD, and 19 punt returns for 405 yards. He’d be waived in 2017, and found his way onto the practice squads of the Jets, Colts, and Bills. Eventually the Bills decided to take a closer look at Marcus as a strictly a running back. He carried the ball 7 times for 41 yards and caught 2 passes for 7 yards in his Bills debut. Marcus made the roster of the Bills in 2018 and has seen a lot more playing time touching the ball 19 times in 3 games.
Great looking card here of Marcus. I just wish the rest of the Sage 2015 set was this consistent. The striking clouds and heroic pose by Murphy look like a pretty solid throwback to the old public relations photos.
Dylan Thompson played quarterback for the Ol’ Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier, at South Carolina. While Dylan did not see any starting duty in his first 3 years at the school (behind Connor Shaw), he put up school record numbers in his final campaign in 2014. During his Senior year Dylan was 270 of 451 for 3564 yards with 26 touchdowns to 11 interceptions.
Thompson was not selected during the 2015 NFL Draft. He’d bounce on and off the roster and practice squad of the 49ers in 2015 and 2016, and the Los Angeles Rams in 2016 and 2017.
In 2018 things went in a new direction for Dylan as he was hired by the Detroit Lions as a Character/ Player Development Coach.
Tavaris Barnes comes from a long line of successful defensive lineman from Clemson. At 6-4, 275 Barnes certainly passed the eyeball test for most pro scouts, but his stats suffered due to his lack of full-time playing status. Over 4 years for the Tigers, Barnes had 46 total tackles, 9 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks. His Sportscenter moment happened when he recovered a fumble against the Louisville Cardinals for a touchdown during the 2014 campaign. Many teams regarded Tavaris as an intriguing project, but he was not selected during the 2015 NFL Draft.
Barnes instead took the free agent route and has seen one year stints at a variety of stops. He made the Saints roster in 2015 and recorded 5 total tackles. In 2016, he joined the Seahawks, but did not see any playing time. 2017 saw Tavaris on the rosters of both the Bucs and Redskins throughout the season.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
Card: Sage 2015
