NORMAN, Okla. (AP) Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray is comfortable with all that comes with being a Heisman Trophy contender – it’s the kind of stuff the first-round Major League Baseball draft choice put off his baseball career for.
In his first season as a starter, Murray ranks second in the nation in passing efficiency behind Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa. He has been more efficient in his first five games than Baker Mayfield was in the first five games of his Heisman-winning campaign last season.
With each dynamic performance, the hype surrounding Murray grows.
”It’s hard not to hear,” he said. ”Obviously I hear it. I’ve dreamed of it my whole life, winning the Heisman. But at the same time, I’m not a complacent guy. For me, it’s just one week at a time, one day at a time. That’s how I look at it.”
Murray will step onto his biggest stage yet Saturday when No. 7 Oklahoma (5-0) plays No. 19 Texas (4-1) in Dallas. The 5-foot-10 junior understands that winning creates the clearest path to his personal goals.
”Keep playing the way I’m playing,” he said. ”Whatever it may be, we’ll see where we end up. For me, it’s just about winning games and doing what’s right for the team. Individual goals will come along if you do what you do. I’m not worried about it.”
Teammates say Murray is taking the attention in stride. After all, he was one of the most highly recruited quarterbacks in the nation coming out of high school, and the Oakland A’s made the outfielder the ninth overall pick in this year’s draft. He’s used to being in the spotlight.
”He’s a great guy,” Oklahoma receiver CeeDee Lamb said. ”He never gets rattled with the outside noise. He stays within himself and stays within us.”
Even when things haven’t been smooth for Murray, they’ve turned up roses. Murray set his alarm wrong last Thursday and arrived late to practice on Friday. Per team rules, he didn’t start on Saturday against Baylor. After sitting out the first series, he played one of the best games in Oklahoma history. He completed 17 of 21 passes for 432 yards and six touchdowns, and he ran for 45 yards and another score in the 66-33 win . He tied Mayfield’s school record by accounting for seven touchdowns, and he set a school record for passing efficiency in a game.
”That was as good a performance as we’ve seen from about anybody,” Oklahoma co-offensive coordinator Cale Gundy, a former Sooner quarterback, said.
Mayfield has the career and single-season FBS passer efficiency records, was the No. 1 overall draft pick and now starts for the Cleveland Browns, yet Murray is more versatile. He’s second on the team with 276 yards rushing, and he leads the Sooners with four rushing touchdowns.
For those who thought the conference was going to get a reprieve when Mayfield left, Murray has perhaps created an even bigger problem. Texas defensive end Charles Omenihu calls him ”a boss.”
”There’s some similarities, but Kyler’s faster than Baker,” Omenihu said. ”I think they’re both pretty accurate, strong arms. But Kyler definitely, when he gets out of the pocket, it’s like, OK, you have to go get him or else he’s going to like run by everybody. He’s as fast as a receiver or a DB.”
The key to Murray’s surge is that he’s become more accurate as a passer. He has completed 70.6 percent of his passes and leads the nation in passing yards per attempt and per completion and is third with 17 passing touchdowns.
”I think a lot of people are starting to get a really good idea of how well he throws the football,” Gundy said. ”We all know he’s fast, he’s got speed. But he really throws the football well. He’s very accurate, he’s got a very quick release and he throws the deep ball very well.”
Back in 2016, Mayfield petitioned the NCAA to get the year of eligibility back that he lost when he transferred from Texas Tech. When it was granted, it pushed Murray’s plans back a year. Murray used Mayfield’s extra season to learn.
”To sit behind him, watching how he works, how he operates, getting to have that experience – not a lot of kids get to have that experience,” Murray said. ”For me, I think it helped out a lot. Just taking it all in, soaking it all up and just putting it to work.”
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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25
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