How exactly do you replace Caleb Murphy if you’re Ferris State football? 

Short answer: you can’t. But you certainly can try. 

Even with the Division II level of quality, compared to the highest tiers of college football put to the side, Murphy’s monster senior season for the Bulldogs on the way to their second consecutive Division II national championship was nothing short of astonishing. 

The first non-FBS player in history to win the Ted Hendricks Award as the best defensive end in college football – an honor won by the likes of Terrell Suggs, Bradley Chubb and Aidan Hutchinson, among others who went on to have long NFL careers – Murphy set the NCAA’s all-division, single-season mark for sacks in 2022 with 25.5, tied the single-season record for tackles for loss with 39 and won a plethora of major awards.

Even the Titan veterans are noticing Caleb Murphy's work ethic. https://t.co/wHKfKy3RUW

— Scott Novak (@LPSportsreport) August 23, 2023

What’s next for the Bulldogs’ pass rush, then? 

Well, Ferris’ elite defense that allowed an average of under 230 yards per game wasn’t a one-man show. There were plenty of other players who made substantial waves for FSU during its run to its second straight title, and with Murphy gone, that only makes their performances this season that much more important. 

Here’s a look at three names that will try to make headway on the near-impossible task of filling in the production lost by Murphy’s departure – but also the reasons why you should keep an eye on them as Ferris eyes a three-peat. 

Olalere Oladipo Sr. 

When starting the conversation about how in the world the Bulldogs are going to find a way to fill the gaps in production left behind by Murphy, why not start with the player who was closest to him in the pass rush a season ago? 

Having started his college career in Division I at Illinois, Oladipo was unceremoniously dismissed from the Fighting Illini in the middle of the 2019 season, but he eventually found his way to Ferris and became an All-GLIAC honorable mention defensive lineman a year ago by being a supplementary piece on a D-line, where in many other places, he would’ve been the top option. 

Of Oladipo’s 33 total tackles in 2022, 14.5 were for a loss and 9.5 were sacks (both second on the team), helping out on 1.5 tackles for loss, plus a half sack, in the national title game when Murphy – unquestionably a major focus of the Mines offensive line – was held sackless and to just three total tackles. 

With both Murphy and All-GLIAC linebacker Konnor Near (who transferred to Oklahoma after 66 total tackles, the third-most on the team) now out of the picture on the Bulldogs’ defense, the surest thing in the FSU pass rush is Oladipo, and he should be poised for a massive role with plenty of big plans in Big Rapids. 

An upgrade to the All-GLIAC first team, and potentially even a legitimate chance at being named the league’s Defensive Lineman of the Year or better, certainly is in the cards for Oladipo, if Ferris keeps living up to lofty expectations. 

FLASHBACK! Ferris State Football captured its second-straight national championship six months ago today on Dec. 17 in McKinney, Texas! Back-To-Back Champs! @FerrisFootball pic.twitter.com/QxYEL9fukf

— Ferris Athletics (@ferrisathletics) June 17, 2023

Ian Hall Sr. 

You don’t have a team that records 66 sacks in a single season do it by way of just one guy (yes, even if that guy had the best season by a pass rusher in NCAA history), and as Oladipo proved, there was room for more than one elite sack-chaser in the Bulldogs’ defense. See also: Ian Hall.

The Wyoming, Michigan, native has experienced it all during his career with Ferris, from a redshirt season in 2017 and slowly working his way up to being a starter, plus a 2020 season lost to the pandemic, to growing into being an integral part of a national title team and one of the potential main catalysts for a historic third in a row. 

The wily veteran of the Bulldogs’ defensive front, Hall recorded consistent production as the games got more tense for FSU last season, notching at least half of a tackle for loss in each of the Bulldogs’ final six games of the year, including 2.5 sacks combined in the semifinal against West Florida and the national title game, leading him to finish with eight on the year to be good for third on the team. 

His continuous presence against the Orediggers while Murphy was contained, contributed to Mines quarterback and Harlon Hill Trophy winner, John Matocha, throwing for just 208 yards with two picks in a wire-to-wire Ferris win. 

The 2022 season was a big jump in growth for Hall after the Bulldogs’ first leg of their repeat saw him be more of a depth piece (22 total tackles, one sack in 2021). 

Now, with an All-GLIAC honorable mention honor under his belt, Hall’s looking for the next step to take – and there are big shoes to fill in his position group. 

PRESEASON #1! Ferris State Football picked first nationally in 2023 AFCA D2 Preseason National Poll! https://t.co/mu3kcQNyqK pic.twitter.com/HZA8vC8ELE

— Ferris St. Football (@FerrisFootball) August 14, 2023

Major Dedmond Sr. 

Considered a defensive back/safety by Ferris and a linebacker by the GLIAC, as he was named to the league’s postseason second team, whatever hat in the Bulldogs’ defense you want Dedmond to wear, he’s going to remain a major problem. 

Ferris’ reliance on him to make plays and bring ballcarriers down, however, is only going to be amplified for 2023. 

Dedmond is the returning leading tackler on the roster after the departures of Murphy, Near and defensive back Cyntell Williams, with Dedmond’s 50 ranking fourth on the team a season ago. 

The now-senior – who was a quarterback at St. Francis (Illinois) before being converted into a do-it-all defensive player once he transferred to FSU – frequently has played the nickel safety role in the Bulldogs’ defense, seeing him deployed in all sorts of positions and schemes. 

That results in the occasional tackle for loss (5.5, to go with 1.5 sacks last season) and many defensive plays in which he springs into action and helps stop movement, possessing 30 assisted tackles on the season. 

Will he be the Murphy replacement on the line, laser-focused on destroying quarterbacks and wreaking havoc on opposing offensive lines? 

At 6-foot-1 and 208 pounds (as listed on Ferris’ 2022 roster), probably not. But Dedmond still will play a vital role in the Bulldogs’ pass rush, as his Swiss Army knife-type of game keeps offenses guessing. He could be showing blitz and dropping back into coverage one play, or be conducting a late rush at the quarterback the next. 

While all of that’s going on, players such as Oladipo and Hall, will be grinding away in the trenches and doing their jobs, which almost certainly will lead to defensive opportunities and momentum-shifting moments that will help Ferris dramatically throughout the grind of its season.