Former Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley cashed in on a big pay day recently by moving on from Norman to take the USC Trojans job.
Riley’s decision didn’t come without controversy. But he’s now one of the faces of college football in the nation’s second-largest media market.
One of the players responsible for Riley’s ascension to stardom in the coaching ranks is none other than Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray. He played for Riley with the Sooners in 2017 and 2018 — ultimately earning the Heisman in his final season under Riley.
On the very same day that Murray earned an awe-inspiring five-year, $230.5 million contract, Riley took to social media to throw praise in the quarterback.
In many ways, coaches act as father figures to their players. They are extremely proud when said individuals make it professionally. Now the second highest-paid quarterback in NFL history, Murray has obviously made it. You can tell by his post that Riley is all sorts of proud.
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Kyler Murray’s success under Lincoln Riley
Back in 2015, Murray sat behind Kyle Allen with the Texas A&M Aggies under then-coach Kevin Sumlin. He then opted to transfer to Oklahoma. After sitting out the 2016 season, the 5-foot-10 quarterback dominated for Oklahoma.
Kyler Murray stats (2017-18): 70% completion, 4,720 passing yards, 1,143 rushing yards, 57 total TD, 7 INT
Murray sat behind Baker Mayfield in 2017 before taking over as the Sooners’ full-time starter a year later. During that 2018 camaign, he led Oklahoma to a 12-2 record and an appearance against Alabama in the Orange Bowl.
After being selected in the first round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Oakland Athletics. At that point, it seemed that he was prepared to give up his cleats for a baseball bat. Something changed, leading to Murray become the No. 1 pick of the Cardinals the following April. The rest is history.
As for Murray and Lincoln Riley, the two have obviously shared a great relationship since the former opted to transfer to Oklahoma.