Georgia football: Modern-era Mount Rushmore – Herschel Walker and the Dawgs

Aaron Murray, quarterback

Looking at it now, it may be hard to remember just how great Aaron Murray was in college. He’s now the quarterback for the Tampa Bay Vipers of the XFL, which seems like a fall far from grace, but back when he had the big G on his helmet, Murray was one of the best. A torn ACL in the final game of his college career derailed what might have been a fun professional career.

That junior year was one of the best in recent memory. He threw for 3,893 yards and 36 touchdowns. He’s one of five quarterbacks to have four seasons with more than 3,000 yards passing.

Not only does he own Georgia records, but he holds SEC records as well. He has the most career passing yards, season passing yards, yards per attempt in a season, passing touchdowns (broke season record twice and career record) and touchdowns responsible for in a season. That’s pretty much every passing record possible. He wasn’t just a flash in the pan, this was total domination from the quarterback position.

He obviously wasn’t a rushing quarterback, but he still made it count. Murray had seven rushing touchdowns in his senior season in just 11 games. He’s not exactly Vince Young, but he had a Tom Brady-like efficiency at the quarterback sneak.

Murray may be the best quarterback in SEC history when it’s all said and done. His issue is he only faced the best of that era, Alabama, once during his career despite being in the same conference. His record against rival Florida is 3-1, only losing in his first season under center. Murray was also a miracle away from going 3-1 against Auburn.

Murray’s legacy took a hit because of how his professional career shook out, but his college career is undeniable.