Kyler Murray – Noteworthy
QB Kyler Murray claimed the Heisman Trophy, college football’s most coveted award, on Saturday night in New York City after passing for more than 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns while accounting for nearly 5,000 total yards in leading the Sooners into the College Football Playoff this season. Murray received 2,167 total points and 517 first-place votes. Alabama sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa finished second with 1,871 points, the highest total for a runner-up, and 299 first-place votes. Ohio State redshirt sophomore quarterback Dwayne Haskins was a distant third in the voting with 783 points. Murray follows Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield in taking home the award. Mayfield went on to become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and is now the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns as a rookie. Not since Army’s Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis in 1945-46 have two players from the same school officially won the prestigious honor in back-to-back years. USC won in 2004 and 2005 with Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush, but Bush’s trophy was vacated.
Murray might have a chance to follow in Mayfield’s footsteps, but he was selected in June as the ninth overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft by the Oakland Athletics and has said he plans to pursue a career in the sport next year. With one season of college football eligibility remaining, Murray could return to Oklahoma next season, but that appears to be a distant possibility. It’s likely he’ll either choose baseball or enter the NFL Draft.
