Former Chippewa 'Underdog' Savors Super Bowl Opportunity

Probably not quite appropriate to label Sean Murphy-Bunting a proverbial underdog.

He was, after all, a second-round pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming out of Central Michigan in 2019, and NFL personnel people know their stuff. Potential draftees are vetted as thoroughly – both for their on-field performance and potential and their personal live – as might the FBI with its agent wannabes.

So as a second-rounder, it's not really surprising to those in and around the game that Murphy-Bunting has developed into a solid NFL starter at cornerback; one who can lay claim to a record that he shares with a Hall of Famer; a player who appears to have a shining future; and one who will start for the Buccaneers on Sunday when they face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV in Tampa Bay.

Still …

"I've always just felt like an underdog," Murphy-Bunting said during a conference call with reporters earlier this week, when he was asked to consider, chin in hand, eyes cast upward, a hypothetical biographical movie. "It's going to be one of those underdog movie stories where (the hero) always prevails at the end. In the end, it always works out the way he wanted it to work out. Successful."

"I'm going to have to play myself. I'm an actor at heart. I'm actually not that good at acting, but I'm trying to be good. That has to count for something."

Hollywood? Maybe someday. For now, Murphy-Bunting is living it in real life, a budding NFL star just two years removed from his days at CMU, where he really was an underdog coming out of Chippewa Valley High School in suburban Detroit. CMU was his only Division I scholarship offer.

In Mount Pleasant, Murphy-Bunting was a First Team All-Mid-American Conference pick and the Chippewas' Defensive Most Valuable Player in 2018. He blossomed as a cornerback who possessed the body that has become the prototype for the position: Long and lean with quickness and speed, necessary attributes for what many consider the most-demanding physical position in the game.

He has made 108 tackles and four interceptions in 32 career regular-season games. Former Chippewa Antonio Brown, who joined the Buccaneers this season, said he is proud of his fellow CMU alum.

"That's a tremendous honor anytime you have a fellow Chippewa in your locker room – that's my brother right there," Brown said. "Sean's a great player, having tremendous success in some big moments. I'm sure all the alumni are excited. I'm even more excited just to see him work every day, just to his transition from Central Michigan to this point. Super grateful and I couldn't be happier for him."

Murphy-Bunting has exploded in the playoffs, making an interception in each of Tampa Bay's three playoff victories. He is the first NFL player to record three picks in his first three career playoff games since Hall of Famer Ed Reed did it with the Baltimore Ravens.

Hall of Fame in Canton? Walk of Fame in Hollywood? That talk is way too premature for Murphy-Bunting. Still, two of his playoff interceptions have come against quarterbacks destined for gold jackets, Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints and Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers.

"He is very instinctive, he's very long," Tampa Bay cornerbacks coach Kevin Ross said of Murphy-Bunting. "He has great anticipation on balls. The only thing he needs to get better at – experience is going to take care of that; the more downs he plays the better he's going to get. The more he sees, the better he's going to get."

Central Michigan University Athletics

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