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When Kyler Murray was going through the recruiting process coming out of high school, it didn’t take him long to settle on Texas A&M as his destination.

But Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury made it tough on him.

Murray said Monday that he developed a close relationship with Kingsbury during the recruiting process and nearly convinced Murray to go there instead of College Station.

“I was always a fan of him and what he can do,” Murray said.

Murray’s Oklahoma team visits Texas Tech on Saturday (7 p.m., ABC).

Murray said Kingsbury’s work with Johnny Manziel was part of the draw. Kingsbury was quarterbacks coach at Texas A&M at the time.

“Just how he believed in me — what he thought of me, what he thought we could do together,” Murray said of why he was drawn toward Tech. “And also, he was with Johnny when Johnny went on his little deal (the 2012 Heisman Trophy run). That’s about it. Me and him have pretty much hit it off since we met.”

Murray a Maxwell Award semifinalist

Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield won the Maxwell Award a year ago as college football's Player of the Year.

Murray could make it two straight.

Murray was named one of 20 semifinalists for the 82nd Maxwell Award on Monday.

He's joined on the list by 10 other quarterbacks, most notably Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa, West Virginia's

Will Grier and Ohio State's

Dwayne Haskins.

Grier is the only other Big 12 player on the list.

Murray is second nationally in completion percentage (.732), passing efficiency rating (227.3), yards per pass attempt (12.7), yards per completion (17.4), and points responsible for per game (25.5).

Riley: Kelly’s decision to play ‘mostly’ his

Early in the season, there was talk of junior linebacker Caleb Kelly redshirting even though he had been mostly in the starting lineup since arriving on campus.

But Kelly is past the point of no return when it comes to redshirting, having played in six games now. Players can play in four or fewer games while maintaining the chance to redshirt.

“Was mostly his decision,” Sooners coach Lincoln Riley said Monday. “There were certainly opportunities both defensively and special-team wise. Continuing to talk to him, he was ready to play.”

Riley said Kelly has improved at the weakside linebacker spot where Curtis Bolton beat him out for the starting role. Kelly has also played a big role on special teams in recent weeks.

“Shows his commitment to this program and this team,” Riley said. “We all want to find a balance for what’s best for the team and what’s best for the individual as much as we possibly can, but that’s why there’s a lot of championships here — because we’ve got guys that care about the team that much, like Caleb.”