In what might be his final season as a member of the Oklahoma Sooners football team, Kyler Murray has officially been named the team’s starting quarterback.
“Kyler did a really nice job in camp. Itwas really a great competition between Austin and him, one that we carried on longer than maybe even we expected because of how well both guys played,” Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley said, via the program’s official website. “There weren’t a lot of differentiating factors in the end because both did play so well and so efficiently, but just felt like from an overall perspective that Kyler was just a little bit ahead.”
A first-round pick of MLB’s Oakland Athletics this summer, Murray has committed to baseball following the 2018 college football season. Despite this, he was always in line to replace reigning Heisman winner Baker Mayfield under center.
A transfer from Texas A&M, Murray is entering his redshirt junior season. In limited playing time last year, he put up 359 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
The smallish 5-foot-10 signal caller is seen as an under-the-radar Heisman candidate and should excel big time in Riley’s wide open offense.