Owls defense will be challenged by Sooners’ shifty QB

BOCA RATON — In Lane Kiffin’s eyes, Kyler Murray should have skipped this college football season to play baseball after being the ninth overall pick in June’s MLB Draft.

As Murray is opting to spend one final season at the collegiate level before joining the Oakland Athletics next year, Kiffin and Florida Atlantic will have their hands full when facing the redshirt junior quarterback on Satur- day in Norman.

“He’s a problem,” Kiffin said. “These are the guys you want to play the least. People that give you all those problems are the guys who, when plays don’t happen in rhythm like plays in football, especially college, (don’t), they have the ability to get out of trouble. ... you can cover everybody and have the play matched perfect and the guy still takes off and runs for 15 yards.”

Murray, 21, beat out redshirt sophomore Austin Kend- all to start for No. 7 Oklahoma as Baker Mayfield’s replace- ment. A former Texas A&M enrollee who transferred to Oklahoma after the 2015 season, Murray completed 18-of- 21 passes last year for 359 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions while running for 142 yards on 14 carries.

There were concerns whether Murray would play this season after signing a MLB contract worth nearly $5 million. At Conference USA’s Media Kickoff last month, Kiffin said he was surprised Murray chose another year of football given the injury risk.

Though Murray has made only one start with the Sooners, Kiffin isn’t viewing the matchup as an easy win for an FAU defense that returns 10 of 11 starters.

“I think because offenses nowadays are spread out and aren’t as complicated,” Kiffin said, referring to Murray’s inexperience not being a factor. “All of the things why people used to have to wait and younger quarterbacks didn’t play ... that’s kind of changed now when you run systems like they do or we do.”

Kiffin called Murray “very difficult to deal with” and compared him to the dualthreat quarterbacks who have succeeded against Alabama in recent years. Kiffin was Alabama’s offensive coordinator from 2014-16.

“The guys that are really good quarterbacks, on top of that, they’re unique speed athletes,” Kiffin said.

Mitchell on the mend: Kiffin said he hopes redshirt sophomore wide receiver John Mitchell, who has been limited the past three weeks with a back injury and a separate, undisclosed injury, can play Saturday. Mitchell caught six passes for 62 yards and a touchdown as a true freshman in 2016 but missed all of last season with a herniated disk.

Though Mitchell wasn’t expected to start for FAU, he enjoyed a strong start to fall camp and saw occasional first-team snaps.