Written By: Jason Feiner, @FeinerScores
It’s official: Kyler Murray is hanging up his baseball cleats and putting his bat in the closet in order to strap on a helmet and toss the pigskin. The Oklahoma product has been one of the main talking points of the offseason and now has turned the scouting world on its head with his most recent declaration. It was only 10 days ago that Kyler couldn’t form a sentence when asked the question of baseball vs. football.
Murray is a one-year starter who took the reigns from 2018 Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield and flourished in Lincoln Riley’s offense. He was selected by the Oakland A’s with the 9th overall pick in the MLB draft last season, chose to continue playing college football, and then won the 2019 Heisman Trophy himself. After a long wait from both the Oakland A’s and the entire National Football League, Murray made a declaration on Twitter that he would be choosing the NFL.
Murray released the following statement on his personal account:
“Moving forward, I am firmly and fully committing my life and time to becoming an NFL quarterback. Football has always been my love and passion my entire life. I was raised to play QB, and I very much look forward to dedicating 100% of myself to being the best QB possible and winning NFL championships. I have started an extensive training program to further prepare myself for upcoming NFL workouts and interviews. I eagerly await the opportunity to continue to prove to NFL decision makers that I am a franchise QB in this draft.”
Murray possesses undeniable talent with unquestionable playmaking ability, but there are still plenty of concerns revolving around his build and stature. He produced some of the best plays college football has ever seen. Teams have begun to move away from the prototypical build NFL signal callers “must” have in order to succeed in this league. However, there has never been a quarterback who stands at 5’10” (on his best day) that has succeeded on the grandest stage in football. While there are people within NFL circles that will stand on both ends of the spectrum regarding Murray’s future in the league, there is not a question of his productivity at the collegiate level.
Nine of the last ten Heisman Trophy winners have been selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. If that holds true, we could hear Murray's name go much sooner rather than later. With a clear head of steam and a definitive answer onto which sport he will play, Murray is almost a certainty for round one. Although there will consistently be debates revolving around Murray’s size and ability, one thing is certain — he will be playing football in 2019. With a chance to show his doubters wrong, the Oklahoma product will be taking the field on March 2nd at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. This will be his first step toward success in the National Football League.