Kyler Murray

Kyler Cole Murray (born August 7, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played college football for the Texas A&M Aggies and Oklahoma Sooners. He also played as an outfielder for the Oklahoma Sooners baseball team. He won the 2014 Gatorade Football Player of the Year award as a senior in high school, and the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year, Davey O'Brien Award, and Heisman Trophy awards for his 2018 season with Oklahoma, in addition to numerous others.

He was drafted first overall by the Cardinals in the 2019 NFL Draft, as well as ninth overall by the Oakland Athletics in the 2018 MLB draft, making him the only player to ever be drafted in the first rounds of both sports.

Football
Murray was born in Bedford, Texas, to Kevin Murray and Misun Henderson. He attended Allen High School in Allen, Texas. As a senior in 2014, he was the Gatorade Football Player of the Year. His team won three straight state championships and 43 games in a row. He missed one start during this streak and finished his career with a perfect 42–0 record as a starting quarterback.

Murray was ranked by ESPN, Scout.com, and 247Sports as a five-star recruit and the best dual-threat quarterback in his class. In May 2014, he committed to Texas A&M University to play college football and college baseball. He officially signed with them on February 4, 2015.

Baseball
Murray also played baseball and was considered one of the top prospects for the 2015 Major League Baseball draft. In high school, Murray was a shortstop and a second baseman. He was the first player to ever be selected for both the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game and Under Armour All-America Football Game.

Texas A&M


As a true freshman in 2015, Murray competed with Kyle Allen before the season for the starting quarterback position. Allen won the job, with Murray appearing in games as a backup (primarily on plays involving the wildcat formation). After the team lost two straight games in October, the competition was opened again prior to the South Carolina game, and Murray won the starting quarterback position. In his first start, Murray threw for 223 yards and rushed for 156 yards with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown, making him and Cam Newton the only Southeastern Conference quarterbacks in the past 20 years to gain over 100 yards passing and rushing, including a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown in their first career start. On December 24, 2015, Murray announced that he was transferring to the University of Oklahoma. Per NCAA transfer rules, he had to miss the 2016 season.

2017 season
In the 2017 season, Murray was a backup quarterback to Baker Mayfield. He got the opportunity to play in some games in relief of Mayfield. He made his season debut in the season opener against UTEP. In the 56–7 victory, he came into the game in the second half and finished 10-of-11 for 149 yards and a touchdown. Two weeks later, against Tulane, he hit all three pass attempts for 103 yards and a touchdown. On November 25, against West Virginia, he started the game after Mayfield had to sit out some of the game due to disciplinary actions in the previous game against the Kansas Jayhawks. In the game, he hit both pass attempts for 52 total yards and a touchdown while contributing 80 rushing yards on three carries.

2018 season
Without Mayfield, Oklahoma considered Murray and Austin Kendall to start at quarterback in 2018. Murray was chosen as the starting quarterback. He threw for more than 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in the 2018 regular season. In December 2018, Murray was awarded the Heisman Trophy as the best collegiate football player in the country, giving Oklahoma back-to-back Heisman winners. Murray helped lead Oklahoma to a Big 12 Championship and an appearance in the College Football Playoff. In the 2018 Orange Bowl, against Alabama, he had 308 passing yards and two passing touchdowns as the Sooners fell by a score of 45–34.

Baseball
Murray opted out of the MLB draft after deciding to attend Texas A&M. He was initially set to play as an infielder for the Texas A&M Aggies baseball team in the 2016 season until he announced his departure from Texas A&M on December 17, 2015.

Murray played for the Oklahoma Sooners baseball team in 2017 as a left fielder. He had a .122 batting average and six runs batted in (RBIs) in 27 games. In 2018, playing as a centerfielder, Murray batted .296 with 10 home runs, 47 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases.

Despite Murray's reported intention to continue his football career, the Oakland Athletics selected Murray with the ninth overall selection of the 2018 MLB draft. He signed a contract with the Athletics which includes a $4.66 million signing bonus. Prior to his junior year with the football team, Murray said that he would report to spring training in 2019 to begin his professional baseball career. However, following his Heisman Trophy-winning 2018 season, he would forgo his senior year and enter the NFL Draft. The A's retain his rights, should he return to baseball.

Professional career
In January 2019, Murray announced that he would enter the 2019 NFL Draft. On February 11, he announced his decision to focus on his football career, forgoing baseball.

Some believed that Murray's pursuit of a football career at the expense of a potential one in baseball was a mistake because of his limited stature relative to a typical NFL quarterback. At the NFL Combine, Murray was widely expected to measure under his listed height of 5'10". Murray's final measurements were listed at 5'10 1/8" and 207 pounds, similar to that of Seattle Seahawks starting quarterback Russell Wilson. Despite not taking part in individual drills at the combine, many saw Murray's draft stock improve because of his greater than expected measurements. In contrast, NFL Network reporter Charley Casserly said that Murray had "the worst report I’ve ever heard on a top-ranked quarterback from the interview part of it", though Murray's agent disputed this report. Gil Brandt also questioned the veracity of Casserly's assertions.

Murray was drafted first overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2019 NFL Draft. While at the same position for Texas Tech's football program, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury said that he would hypothetically spend the draft's top selection on Murray. The pick also made Murray the first player to be drafted in the first round of both the NFL and MLB drafts, the first time that two quarterbacks from the same university have gone in the first round in successive seasons with Baker Mayfield also being selected first in the 2018 NFL Draft and the first sub-six foot tall quarterback selected number one in an NFL draft.

Murray made his professional debut on August 9, 2019 in the first preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers, where he completed 6 of 7 passes for 44 yards.

Personal life
Murray's father, Kevin Murray, was a quarterback at Texas A&M from 1983 to 1986. His uncle, University of Texas alumnus Calvin Murray, is a former professional baseball player for the San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, and Chicago Cubs. Murray is a second-generation Korean American, with his maternal grandmother being a South Korean national.