Murray developed his accuracy with one of Texas’ best quarterback gurus – his dad.
Any quarterback can hit the broad side of a barn. Ask Kyler Murray to do it, though, and the Cardinals rookie is so accurate he could probably take a football and throw a perfectly tight spiral at every nail driven into every wooden plank that’s holding the dang barn up in the first place.
“It’s almost scary,” Cardinals wide receiver Trent Sherfield said of Murray’s accuracy.
Maybe you wouldn’t feel comfortable placing an apple on your child’s head and letting Murray knock it off on a throw from at least 15 yards away, but you should.
He’s that skillful with a football in his hands.
Don’t believe it? You should have watched one of the Cardinals’ free practices during training camp at State Farm Stadium. Murray and the team’s other quarterbacks have prepared each time by throwing pass after pass into a series of ascending net targets upon the completion of doing a series of frenetic footwork drills.
The kid doesn’t miss, and if he has, you could probably count the number of off-target throws on one hand since the start of rookie camp in May.
“Yeah, that’s probably right,” head coach Kliff Kingsbury agreed. “He’s pretty accurate. I’ve been around some pretty good ones and he’s up there when you’re talking about just touch and accuracy and quick release and consistently throwing a tight spiral.
“If he doesn’t throw a spiral, it’s like I look at him and go, ‘Are you OK?’ So yeah, that’s pretty exciting.”
Murray’s arm and accuracy will be on display once again Thursday night in Glendale when the Cardinals meet the Raiders in their second preseason game.
After officially going 6 of 7 for 44 yards in last week’s 17-13 victory over the Chargers — even though his one incompletion technically was a completed pass — Murray expects bigger results against Oakland as his playing time will be increased.
As usual, the key will be not just recognizing defensive coverages, but quickly making his progressions and firing the ball on target with purpose, aim and touch. That’s something he’s had his whole life, Kingsbury said.
“It started at a young age,” he said. “His dad has trained him to do that since he could walk. And that’s what it looks like. They worked very, very hard to perfect his motion and his accuracy and his touch, but it’s paid off. You’ve got to give a lot of credit to his dad and the vision he had for his son to play quarterback.”
Kevin Murray was a former all-state quarterback at North Dallas High School who went on to set numerous passing records at Texas A&M from 1983-86.
He left as the program’s winningest quarterback with a 25-6-1 record, had a very brief career as a pro, and has been a longtime quarterback trainer and high school coach ever since.
His prized protégé is his son, who after compiling a 57-3 record at Allen (Texas) High and Oklahoma, went on to become the first overall pick in this year’s NFL draft.
“Like I said, his dad is one of the premier quarterback gurus in the state of Texas and Kyler got that skill each and every day,” Kingsbury said. “The quick release, the release point, being able to drop it down and still be accurate, I mean he’s a unique arm talent.”
Murray says most of it is “God-gifted” and that as much as his father did teach him about footwork and arm mechanics, the art of accuracy comes down to “you either are or you aren’t. I don’t think you really become accurate.”
Murray didn’t start playing quarterback until he was about 8. Before that, he said, he was a running back because “the best player on the team usually plays running back.”
When he switched positions, there were multiple drills and target practices that his father taught him. A lot of it, though, was simply “throwing it in the street, it didn’t really matter,” he said. “If there was a football, I was throwing it.”
And yes, there were plenty of barns back in Allen, Texas, where he went 42-0 in high school and won three state championships. Playing catch with his father, he said, “You just naturally have a feel for it,” and that’s how he also developed his touch on passes when he’s slinging it at warp speed.
“It’s not a ‘heavy’ ball, though,” Sherfield said. “He has a lot of velocity coming off the ball when he throws it, but it’s not a hard ball to catch. When you’re coming out of your break, you know the ball is going to be right there. It makes the life of being a receiver very, very easy.”
Cornerback Patrick Peterson raised some eyebrows this week when he compared Murray’s accuracy, tenacity and drive to NFL quarterback greats Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, especially with how Murray seemed to get better as games went on, judging strictly from his college tape at Oklahoma.
“As a quarterback, that’s dangerous,” Peterson said. “Hopefully, he can bring that over and that does come into fruition, and if that does, watch out.”