The flipside is that they were almost certainly going to have to onside kick at some point. If they weren't going to get it then, then they probably wouldn't have gotten it later either when Alabama would be even more certain they were going to do it.
1 Bama 2 Clemson bye 3 ND 4 OK 5 GA 6 ? Play-in game and/or use computers: CFla/Mich/OhSt/whoever Make the playoffs happen. eta: cut out a useless non-conference game. I'm sure that the SEC can do without playing the SWAC in November
I've always thought that you save the "special" plays for late, because maybe you force a fumble or whatever on D, that has to be more likely than recovering an onside kick, right? Save that for when you're desperate for possessions/time?
Maybe in their case, their "special play" was the defense getting a stop (less likely than recovering an onside kick). So they were trying to delay the need for that in the hopes that they kept recovering onside kicks and could avoid needing their defense to actually do anything. I still don't get how you take OU's athletes and can't form a functional defense. I get not being able to stop Alabama's athletes, but they should have been able to stop Kansas's or Baylor's or whomever's players on sheer speed & athletecism.
Yeah, I'll give Riley a bit of leeway, since he's a rookie and he did fire their DC midseason (hook 'em), but there's no reason for a certain couple of BigXII programs to be worse than Texas Tech on defense.
I'm not sure he's going to end up in baseball. It's certainly physically safer, but he KNOWS he's an amazing football player - he may or not be a great baseball player. He could get $20MM guaranteed or something if he's a high NFL pick, and he doesn't have to spend several years wandering around the minor leagues and maybe not get a next big payday for 6-8 years, if ever. If goes to the NFL, anyone know what happens to his baseball signing bonus?
According to Boras (his agent), he will be at the A's MLB spring training and will not be working out for any NFL teams. He does have to forfeit or repay a big chunk of his signing bonus if he ever plays football.
That's his baseball agent, so that's all he could say or would know. Saying anything else about the NFL would potentially have risked his college football eligibility. NFL people seem to think there's a decent chance he enters the draft and could be a 1st round pick.
1st round pick? As a QB? I don't see it. He's talented, but he's tiny. I think he will do the smart thing and go with baseball full time.
1st round pick? As a QB? I don't see it. He's talented, but he's tiny. I think he will do the smart thing and go with baseball full time.
Yeah, I have no idea if it would ultimately play out that way, but it's certainly in discussion. I think the success of Russell Wilson and the move to college-style offenses in the NFL is changing people's views, maybe? https://newsok.com/article/5618943/ou-football-qa-with-todd-mcshay-on-kyler-murrays-nfl-future ESPN's Todd McShay: OU's Kyler Murray would be 'first or second quarterback' on NFL draft board if not for baseball What kind of confusion has Murray caused in NFL front offices? "I think a lot. I've got a lot of friends who are NFL scouts. Throughout the year they said we're basically going to evaluate him next year if he decides to come back. Or he's going to go play baseball. And so now it's kinda changed a little bit. I think teams are just waiting to find out for sure before they start really doing a deep dive in terms of the background and character and all these things. The tape is the tape. You can watch that any day, any time. Teams are waiting until they utilize their resources before they take the time and the money that it's going to take to evaluate him." Where would Murray rank on your quarterback board if baseball wasn't in the way? "He'd be the first or second quarterback in my opinion. I would draft him in the first round if I was a team that knew how to use him. NFL offenses are going in the direction of what Oklahoma is doing. We're seeing more and more of that. If he's 5-9 and a half what's the difference between 5-10 and 3/8 inches with Russell Wilson and 5-9 and a half?" Has Baker Mayfield paved the way for Murray as an undersized quarterback from Lincoln Riley's system? "I think there are some similarities there. I think the fact he picked it up as quickly as he did, quick decisions, quick trigger. He's not as consistently accurately probably as Baker was, but he's more explosive as a runner. He does a phenomenal job of not taking hits to that undersized body. That's one of his best traits." If he shows up to spring training with the Oakland A's, where will he fall in the NFL draft? "I think a team will probably use a Day 3 pick on him and try to motivate him to come. I really would not expect a team to use a first-round pick. There's too much value there for a guy you're not convinced is going to play football. You can't do that."
