Do you want to spark some media attention and generate easy clicks? Look no further than the winning recipe: throw shade at Texas A&M football! Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin is notoriously addicted to doing so, and after Saturday afternoon it appears as if an NFL quarterback is joining in on the trend.
While attending Oklahoma’s 2023 spring game on Saturday, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was honored with a statue to celebrate his Heisman-winning season in 2018.
When taking the mic to speak at the ceremony, Murray, who played for the Sooners from 2017 to 2018, appeared to take a dig at the school he began his collegiate career with, which was none other than Texas A&M. Murray’s comments were shared by Max Olson of The Athletic on Twitter:
Kyler Murray addressing the crowd at halftime of Oklahoma’s spring game: “I had a rocky start to my college career. I chose the wrong school.”
Loud applause for that line.
— Max Olson (@max_olson) April 22, 2023
Murray was a five-star prospect in the Class of 2015 and committed to Texas A&M, but the one-year partnership between the two was an interesting sample size, to put it gently. As the Cardinals signal-caller alluded to himself, it was a rocky year by all indications.
In eight games with the Aggies, Murray threw for 686 yards with a 59.5 completion percentage and five touchdowns with seven interceptions. His 3.9 adjusted passing yards per attempt were a clear step below what he would average with the Sooners (13.3) during his sophomore and junior seasons.
Murray reportedly had some uncertainty with A&M’s offense and concerns with how he was being utilized, and it’s safe to say his freshman-year numbers back up that claim. But were his comments on Saturday a true dig at Texas A&M, or were they rather an appreciation for turning around his collegiate career at Oklahoma?
Murray is by no means the lone signal-caller to see his collegiate game see a boost from playing under Lincoln Riley, you can throw Baker Mayfield and Caleb Williams in that group as well. Mayfield, just like Murray, would go on to win the Heisman trophy and hear his name called in the NFL Draft. Williams is coming off a Heisman-winning season, and it feels likely that he’ll be selected first overall in the 2024 draft.
So while words can be taken very literally, they can also be misconstrued just as easily. If anything, Murray was likely showing appreciation for the second chance he got with the Sooners as it was clear he needed a change of scenery. You can’t fault him for thriving and making the most of it, whether you’re a Sooners fan or an Aggies fan.
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