Sorry, baseball fans. Kyler Murray, it turns out, was never all that enthused about the prospect of playing for the Oakland Athletics.
The ninth overall pick of the 2018 draft and reigning Heisman trophy winner announced on February 11th that he had made the decision to pursue a professional football career, indicating his baseball days were over for good.
Murray told ESPN.com's Jake Trotter that he had known for some time that he would focus solely on the NFL after college, and admitted that being drafted by the Athletics did nothing to make him more interested in joining the major leagues:
“For me, it was something I've known for a while,” he said of his choice to play football. “That organization, being with the A's, was the best possible situation for me just because they were so great throughout the football season, kind of leaving me alone and letting me do my own thing, and at the same time letting me know how much I meant to them and that type of stuff. Telling them was tough.
“The night I got drafted to the A's – obviously it was a great day of my life – but I've been a football player my whole life,” Murray continued.
The first-year starter set the college football world on fire in 2018, leading the Oklahoma Sooners to the College Football Playoffs by throwing for 4,361 yards, 42 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while completing 69.0 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 1,001 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Despite concerns about his diminutive stature, most NFL draft analysts per Murray as a likely first-round pick, with the chance to come off the board in the top 10.
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