Kyler Murray: Heisman winner fully committed to baseball

Kyler Murray made history when he became the second-straight Oklahoma quarterback to win the Heisman trophy, following Baker Mayfield from last year.

One would think this gives him a bright future in professional football. Though he’s only 5’11, which isn’t the ideal size for an NFL quarterback, that hasn’t stopped guys like Russell Wilson or Mayfield himself. However, it doesn’t seem Murray is even going to give pro teams a chance to make that determination. Unlike may previous prospects throughout the years, he had other options on the table from the start.

In addition to football, he also spent his college career having success on the baseball diamond. This past season for the Sooners, he batted a .296 average with 10 home runs and 47 RBIs. His talent was enough to convince the Oakland As to select him 9th overall in the 2018 MLB draft. The odds that he is a similarly high pick in the NFL is remote. So it’s not a surprise, according to his agent Scott Boras via Ian Rapaport of NFL Network that he’s choosing to pursue his career in baseball.

"“Kyler has agreed and the A’s agreed to a baseball contract that gave him permission to play college football through the end of the collegiate season,” Boras said this week over the phone. “After that, he is under contract to play baseball. That is not a determination to make. It’s already done.”"

Murray the first notable player since Bo Jackson to favor baseball

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It’s been a long time since a top football player in college like Murray elected to go with baseball instead as their professional choice. Not since the great Bo Jackson spurned the NFL in favor of playing for the Kansas City Royals had something like this happened. However, Jackson’s decision was less about simply not caring to play football and more about being tricked by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who held the #1 pick in 1986, to commit an NCAA violation.

This cost him his final year of eligibility for Auburn baseball, something he never forgave the Buccaneers for. He spent 1986 pursuing pro baseball instead. He told NFL teams he might consider playing football but only if he could continue playing baseball. The Los Angeles Raiders accepted this, drafting him in 1987. He joined them after the conclusion of each baseball season and would end up going to a Pro Bowl.

While Murray has made his decision to focus on baseball clear, he too has expressed a home that he could continue playing football. The problem is he’s a quarterback. Teams are unlikely to sacrifice six games of their season (which is how many it typically took before Jackson reported to the Raiders) waiting for him. It seems unrealistic. Odds are Murray’s football legend will end at Oklahoma.

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