We are nearing the end of the college football season furthermore naming a Heisman winner. We have a close race for the trophy. Our top three candidates are Will Grier of West Virginia, Tua Tagovailoa of Alabama, and Kyler Murray of Oklahoma. Tagovaioa and Murray are the two front runners with Grier close behind them. With
Tagovailoa injuring his knee earlier in the season against Missouri but does appear to have reinjured that knee against Mississippi State last week. But Nick Saban has stated that He is fine and will play this weekend against The Citadel.
Kyler Murray has had a stellar season thus far for the Sooners. With two games remaining on their regular season against Kansas and then they travel to West Virginia to face the Mountaineers and Will Grier. More than likely we will see the Sooners in the Big 12 Championship game. Their opponent is to be determined. With the regular season nearing it’s end, Murray is making the final push to become a Heisman winner.
Murray has been on most people’s Heisman watch list for the majority of the season. He is a transfer student from Texas A&M where his father Kevin Murray played. Not only is he a Heisman contending quarterback for the Sooners, he is an outfielder for the Sooners baseball team. in 2015 he was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the ninth round. Once the Sooners season is over, Murray will report to Oakland’s spring training camp in 2019. He was also named the 2015 Gatorade Player of the Year.
High School:
Murray attended Allen High School in Allen, Texas. As a senior 2014, he was named Gatorade Player of the Year. Murray and Allen High School would win three straight state titles and 43 games in a row.
While playing baseball in high school, he played second base and shortstop. He became the first player ever to be selected to the Under Armour All America Baseball game and the Under Armour All America Football game. Murray would opt out of the MLB draft after committing the A&M in December 2015.
Murray ended his high school career with an impressive 10,386 passing yards and 117 passing touchdowns,. While also tacking on 4,139 rushing yards and 69 rushing touchdowns. He certainly deserved those Under Armour and Gatorade accolades.
Recruitment:
He was ranked as a 5 star recruit. He was listed as the best dual threat quarterback of his class. In May,2014. He committed to playing football and baseball at Texas A&M. He officially signed his letter of intent in February of 2015 to play for the Aggies.
College Life:
Texas A&M:
As a freshman at A&M. Murray competed for the starting QB position with Kyle Allen. Allen would get the nod to start the season, however we would see Murray play when the Aggies would run the Wildcat formation. After the Aggies lost two straight games in October of that year, Murray took over the starting job. In his first game starting, Murray passed for 223 yards one touchdown, while rushing for 156 yards and one rushing touchdown making him the second player in SEC football history to throw and run over 100 yards in their first career start. The other player was Cam Newton. In December of 2015, he announced he would be transferring to the University of Oklahoma.
Oklahoma:
In the 2017 season Murray would be a backup to Baker Mayfield. During the season he would see some action. Murray would see the field for the first time against UTEP in the second half. In the 53-7 victory, Murray finished with 143 yards and a touchdown. A couple of weeks later against Tulane, he completed all three of his pass attempts for 103 yards and a touchdown. He would get his first official start against West Virginia because Mayfield received disciplinary action after an incident against Kansas. In the Mountaineer game, Murray contributed with 52 passing yards and a touchdown while rushing for 80 yards and a rushing touchdown.
2018 Season:
Kyler Murray has had one of the best seasons by a quarterback in the NCAA. Currently, the Sooners have a record of 9-1 and they have Murray to thank for all that. Murray has put up 3,038 passing yards with 32 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions. His worst game came at the hands of Army where he only threw 165 yards however he did throw 3 touchdowns.
The one loss came at the hands of their very bitter rival the Texas Longhorns. And if there is one thing that any Sooner whether it be a fan or player hates is a loss to Texas. The season seems somewhat of a failure to Sooners. However in that losing effort, Kyrie put up 304 passing yards with 4 touchdowns and also racking up 92 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.
In Summary:
Kyler Murray not only has kept his Heisman chances alive all year long with the one loss, he has also kept his Sooners afloat in the national title hunt with the Sooners ranked at #6 currently. The Sooners will certainly need a team or two ahead of them to lose a game or two so they can see themselves in the Playoffs for the third time in the Playoff era.
Tua Tagovailoa is currently the favorite by Vegas odds at -450. Kyler Murray is currently at +500. We still got two weekends (three if you want to count championship weekend ), so anything can happen in these upcoming weeks. The Sooners should take care of Kansas this weekend. And if history repeats itself , they will take care of the Mountaineers. The Mountaineers have yet to defeat the Sooners since joining the Big 12.