Murray win an event ‘I’ve dreamed of my whole life’

NEW YORK – Kyler Murray became the second Oklahoma quarterback in a row to win the Heisman Trophy by edging out Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the front-runner for much of the regular season before Murray’s torrid close vaulted the Sooners back into the College Football Playoff.

“This is something I’ve dreamed of my whole life,” Murray said Saturday night. “It hasn’t sunken in yet, but … this is crazy.”

Murray captured 517 of 878 firstplace votes and amassed 2,167 points. Tagovailoa earned 299 firstplace votes and 1,871 points. Tagovailoa’s points total was the most by a runner-up in Heisman history, breaking the mark of 1,794 points set by Minnesota tailback Paul Giel in 1953.

The third invitee, Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins, finished well behind Murray and Tagovailoa with 783 points.

Murray received 78 percent of all possible points, the eighth-highest percentage in Heisman history, and was named on 92.03 percent of all ballots, good for third in voting history.

For just the second time in Heisman history, joining 2001, each of the top six finishers was a quarterback. West Virginia’s Will Grier (126 points), Washington State’s Gardner Minshew (122) and Central Florida’s McKenzie Milton (39) following the top three.

The night was not free of some controversy for Murray. Shortly after the announcement, old homophobic tweets on Murray’s Twitter account surfaced. Early Sunday morning, Murray responded on Twitter:

“I apologize for the tweets that have come to light tonight from when I was 14 and 15. I used a poor choice of word that doesn’t reflect who I am or what I believe. I did not intend to single out any individual or group.”