Kyler Murray signing with A’s, forgoing senior year at OU is a win-win-win
Barely a month after Baker Mayfield was taken with the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Kyler Murray, his heir apparent as the Sooners’ starting quarterback, was picked ninth overall in the MLB Draft.
Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray announced this week that he will sign a $4.6 million deal with the Oakland A’s on Friday. With two years of NCAA eligibility remaining, he plans to play football for Oklahoma this fall then forgo his final season of college, shifting to his professional baseball career in the spring of 2019.
The agreement reached between Murray, the A’s and Oklahoma will be the most successful compromise among three or more parties since the Paris Peace Treaties were signed in 1947, formally ending the Second World War in the European Theatre.
Hyperbole aside, the arrangement is a unique one and will make Murray the MLB’s highest ever draft selection to continue his career in another sport before switching entirely to baseball. As Oklahoma’s projected starter at quarterback and Oakland’s No. 1 pick in spite of his football career, Kyler Murray is a key component to OU’s immediate success in 2018 and a major cog in the A’s future longterm.
With all that’s riding on his health, both Murray and the A’s are protected by substantial insurance policies in case he’s injured playing football this coming season. Even with that protection, there will be a congregation of held breaths between the A’s organization and everyone related to Murray every time he takes a hit this fall.
Oklahoma is ranked No. 9 in preseason polls heading into 2018 and solidifying Murray for the season gives the Sooners a huge boost toward repeating their appearance in the four-team playoff. He’s an overwhelming long shot to follow Mayfield as a Heisman Trophy winner, but make no mistake; Murray is special. He’s a smart player, has the arm to make any throw on the field and is a phenomenal athlete, reportedly running close to a 4.4 40-yard-dash.
As a high school senior in 2014, Murray was a five-star prospect as a dual-threat quarterback, Gatorade Player of the Year, USA Today Offensive Player of the Year, and Texas’s Mr. Football (which he also won as a junior). As a right-handed middle-infielder, he was also one of the highest rated high school baseball players in the country. After opting out of the MLB Draft straight from high school, he committed to Texas A&M as a two-sport athlete.
Kevin Sumlin played multiple quarterbacks, all with limited success, during Murray’s freshman season in 2015. He appeared in eight games, three as a starter, including a 223-yard passing and 150-yard rushing performance in a win over South Carolina. The team went 8-5 and Murray never really found his comfort zone. In December, he announced his intentions to transfer and he left A&M to enroll at Oklahoma before ever making an appearance on the diamond in an Aggies uniform.
After sitting out the 2016 season per NCAA transfer rules, he backed up Heisman winner, Baker Mayfield, in 2017. In seven games, mostly lopsided wins, Kyler completed 18 of 21 passing attempts for 359 yards and three touchdowns along with 142 rushing yards on 14 attempts.
As a member of the Sooners baseball team, Murray moved to the outfield, playing left field as a sophomore in 2017 before moving to center field as a junior. In addition to becoming a stellar defensive outfielder, he hit .296 with 47 RBI’s and 10 stolen bases in 51 games as a junior in 2018.
Next: Best MLB player from each state
He has 4.6 million reasons to stick to baseball and it’s putting the (covered) wagon in front of the horse, but if Murray breaks out as the signal caller on a playoff contender this fall and rumblings from NFL scouts start circulating, could a career in football reach a point of superseding baseball? Either way, 2018 will be an interesting season to watch in Norman.