Red Murdock


Khalil Elijah "Red" Murdock is an American college football linebacker for the Buffalo Bulls.

Early life

Murdock was a middle child, one of his single mother's six children. In the eighth grade, he achieved a perfect score on the Standards of Learning for English exam, a standardized test administered in Virginia.
Murdock attended high school at Hopewell located in Hopewell, Virginia. As a junior in 2019, he missed much of the season due to a hip injury but, along with teammate TreVeyon Henderson, he led Hopewell to a Virginia High School League championship. He underwent surgery after the season to repair a torn labrum. While at Hopewell, he completed an associate's degree at Brightpoint Community College via a dual enrollment program. He did not attract any attention from Division I football programs at Hopewell and made the decision to complete a post-graduate year at Fork Union Military Academy in Fork Union, Virginia to pursue a Division I scholarship. He helped lead Fork Union to an undefeated season but Buffalo was the only program to offer him a college football scholarship.

College career

In his freshman season in 2022, he redshirted but played in five games, recording six tackles and a pass deflection.
During the 2023 season, Murdock totaled 60 tackles with nine and a half being for a loss, two sacks, and four forced fumbles.
In May 2024, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology. In week four of the 2024 season, he tallied 12 tackles and a forced fumble in an overtime win versus Northern Illinois. During the 2025 Bahamas Bowl, Murdock notched 13 tackles with three being for a loss, an interception which he returned for a touchdown in a victory over Liberty, where for his performance he was named the game's Defensive MVP. He finished the 2024 season, second in the nation with 156 tackles with 16.5 being for a loss, two sacks, an interception, seven forced fumbles, and a touchdown. His seven forced fumbles led the NCAA and his 156 total tackles were second behind only fellow Buffalo linebacker Shaun Dolac.
Heading into the 2025 season, Murdock was named a nominee for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.