TRAVELIN’ MAN
Murray ready for wild weekend with football, baseball teams
NORMAN — Kyler Murray probably won’t have to catch a train at any point this weekend. Probably not a boat, either.
Just about every other method of transportation is on the table, though, as Oklahoma’s backup quarterback on the football field and outfielder on the baseball field is ready for the most hectic travel weekend of his life.
“It will be interesting, but I’m looking forward to it,” Murray said.
•Thursday, Murray was to bus to Austin, where the Sooners’ 26-6 baseball team is set to open a three-game series at Texas on Friday.
•After a night’s sleep deep in the heart of Texas, Murray will jump on a school plane with OU football and baseball play-by-play man Toby Rowland for a flight to Norman for Saturday's 1 p.m. spring football game.
•Following that game, which figures to feature plenty of Murray as he battles Austin Kendall for the No. 2 quarterback spot behind Baker Mayfield, he’ll head back to the airport with Rowland. This time, the pair will catch a Saturday night commercial flight back to Austin so Murray can rejoin the baseball team for Sunday’s series finale.
•Finally, he’ll bus back to Norman with his teammates after that game.
A couple of years ago, Mayfield and then-OU linebacker Eric Striker regularly blasted Kevin Gates’ “I Don’t Get Tired” in the locker room during early-morning workouts.
The tune might as well be a theme song for Murray.
“That dude can play
all day every day,” Oklahoma offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley said.
It was up to Riley and Sooners baseball coach Pete Hughes to map out Murray’s spring schedule, with Hughes ceding to the football practice schedule and Riley making sure that Murray could be available for baseball as much as possible.
It wasn’t an easy process.
“It’s harder on him than anybody, but it’s hard on all of us because the scheduling, and there’s so many different rules that come into play with this,” Riley said. “It’s a little new to me.
“Pete and all the baseball guys over there have been great to work with. We have a good plan, and we were prepared going into it.”
A few years ago, when Cody Thomas went through a similar spring, he didn’t do much bouncing back and forth. Thomas focused on football once spring practice began and joined the baseball team when that schedule allowed.
The schedule Riley and Hughes worked out wound up with Murray missing six baseball games — mostly nonconference contests — and three football practices.
The work to line everything out speaks to Murray’s value in both places.
In football, he’s expected to not only serve as an insurance policy in case Mayfield is injured but figures to be the heir apparent to Mayfield after his eligibility expires after this season.
On the diamond, Mayfield is hitting just .150 but has a .346 on-base percentage. He has stolen eight consecutive bases after being thrown out on his first attempt of the year and is, Hughes says, the fastest player in college baseball.
After having to sit out of both sports a year ago after transferring from Texas A&M, Murray is relishing every bit of his hectic spring.
“You sat for a year and you see everybody having fun — you’re having fun and you’re in it, but you’re not in it, you know?” Murray said. “Just being able to play and touch the field, I can’t be mad. Just having the opportunity to play baseball and football at a major D-I level is a great opportunity.”