Murphy – Ty Laney remembers everything about the injury that almost ended his Murphy football career.
He remembers setting up to block for Hunter Stalcup on a punt return, then having a South Pittsburg, Tenn., player roll into his right leg as Stalcup signaled for a fair catch. Through the whole process – from banging his fist on the turf moments after the injury, to being put on a stretcher and leaving the field in an ambulance – there was only one thought going through his head.
“The only thought was I wouldn’t get to play my senior season,” Laney said. “That was the only thing that went through my head.”
And yet, there was Laney 60 days later in the second round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A playoffs against East Wilkes, taking the field in his traditional spot at middle linebacker. For a kid who has been around Murphy football his whole life, Laney was going to return to the field if there was any chance he could.
“All this is because there’s a chance to do it, and he worked his butt off to get back,” Bulldogs head coach Joseph Watson said. “He’s going to do whatever he can for his school, his teammates, his family.”
Laney’s dad, Erik, is an assistant coach today and was a key contributor on Murphy’s 1996 state championship team along with Watson. His brother Cole was the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback this fall after playing wide receiver and defensive back last year. This was supposed to be their year to lead Murphy’s offense.
Ty ran for 1,226 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior and was one of the Bulldogs’ top defenders on his way to an All-Smoky Mountain Conference selection. He was on track for a similar season this fall before the injury, running for 238 yards and recording 28 tackles.
“It was hard the next couple weeks,” Laney said. “I thought I worked really hard this summer, all my years of high school for this season and that got taken away from me.”
In the weeks following his injury, Laney hoped he could be like Murphy alum Payton McCracken, who tore his meniscus during the 2020-21 COVID season only to return after four weeks and win Most Outstanding Offensive Player in the state championship game. Laney’s injury was more serious, as he broke both his tibia and fibula. But he had a rod put in his leg during surgery, which helped quicken the recovery process.
From there, he just tried to go through the checklist needed to get back on the field, and was diligent in his routine and recovery. Once he got cleared to lift, he started to believe returning to the field was possible.
Laney’s goal then moved to start running. He started trying to jog a little at practice, and if it felt good, would try to do a little more each day. In the lead-up to Murphy’s game against Swain County on Oct. 21, he started practicing with a helmet on, then dressed out that Friday and the next two weeks.
He got the OK to play from his doctor, and that was all he needed to hear to get back on the field. He didn’t go out into his normal two-way role, instead just playing at linebacker.
Watson thought he would be more in control of his body at that position compared to running back, which requires a lot of blocking and reading angles in Murphy’s Wing-T offense. At linebacker, it’s more about finding and flying to the ball.
Against East Wilkes, Laney did exactly that. He found the Cardinals’ ball carrier to make the first tackle of the game. When he popped up, he pointed to the Murphy name on his chest. With as much as the Bulldogs’ program has meant to Laney and his family, he would do anything he could to get back on the field – and he did.
“My whole childhood was Murphy football,” Laney said. “I’ve been looking forward to this my whole life basically. So I didn’t want to miss out on it.”