DOWAGIAC — Coming off a successful performance at the East-West Shrine Bowl last week, former Dowagiac and Ferris State University standout Caleb Murphy has received an invitation to participate in the National Football League Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana Feb. 28 through March 6.

Murphy is one of 316 college players who have be invited to display their skills at Lucas Oil Stadium. He is the third Ferris State University Bulldog to be invited to the combine and the first since offensive tackle Devon Johnson in 2019. Paul Cochran, an offensive tackle, was the first Bulldog to participate in the combine in 1991.

Murphy will be competing in drills in front of top executives, coaching staffs, player personnel and medical personnel for all 32 NFL teams. He is one of only three Division II players who received invitations. He is the only Division II player from Michigan or the Great Lakes region to receive an invitation.

The NFL Combine has been held every year since 1982, and annually in Indianapolis since 1987.

This past season, Murphy, who helped Ferris State University win its second straight Division II National Championship, crushed the all-time sack record with 25.5. Those sacks were not just a record for Division II, but an all-time NCAA record regardless of division. He also had 39 tackles for a loss, which tied the all-time and single-season NCAA records.

In his final two years at Ferris State, Murphy recorded 40 sacks, 60.5 tackles for loss, which were good for 353 yards, 156 total tackles and eight forced fumbles. The Bulldogs were 9-0 in the Division II playoffs with a pair of championships.

Murphy received every major defensive award in 2022, including the Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award, the Ted Hendricks Award presented to the nation’s top defensive end, the Division II National Defensive Player of the Year honor in addition to the Cliff Harris Award as the nation’s top small college defensive player.

Murphy was also named the Great Lakes Interscholastic Athletic Conference Player of the Year. He was the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021.

The NFL Draft will be held in Kansas City April 27-29.