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Tyker Murray has informed the Oakland Athletics that he has entered the NFL draft after signing a $4.5 million bonus as the eighth pick in the Major League baseball draft

By Arnie Leshin 
Arnie Leshin

Kyler Murray’s time at Oklahoma has officially come to an end.

Instead of returning to Sooner land to play his senior season, the Heisman Trophy winner has entered his name and submitted the paperwork forthe National Football League draft. This, after a bonus signing of $4.5 million after being the No. 1 pick, eighth overall in the baseball draft, of the Oakland Athletics.

Only recently has the American League team met with Murray, trying to keep him in Major League baseball. But he still maintained his desire to play professional football, and is expected to be a first round selection. He still has the option of reporting to spring training with the A’s, but it would have a heavy overlap with the NFL combine.

And he could have preferred to play one more eligible season for Oklahoma. But he made the unexpected choice of choosing football over baseball, and it can perhaps develop into a tug of war even though he has first choice.

He still has time to weigh his options, but for now, it looks like Murray’s heart is set on playing pro football, and he has already informed Oakland of this.

When some felt that Murray was a breakaway star in the role of quarterback, his run to the Heisman Trophy surpassed even the boldest of expectations and vaulted him to a batch of post-season honors.

After transferring to OU from Texas A & M, Murray backed up Baker Mayfield in 2017 and assumed the starting role ahead of the 2018 seasonafter Mayfield also won the Heisman award and was the No.1 pick in the NFL draft.

With some looking at Murray as a potential breakaway star in the sport, his run to the Heisman Trophy surprised even the boldest of expectations and brought him a batch of post-season honors. He threw for 4,361 yards, ran for 1,001 yards, and scored 12 times while leading the Sooners to the Big 12 title and a college playoff berth as the fourth seed.

They lost 45-34 to Alabama in the semifinals.They fell behind early, and it was Murray who tried to rally his team, but ran but of time. He started slow, but wound up with another stellar performance with 308 yards through the air, he added 109 along the ground, and ran for three TDs.

Only 5-foot-10, he has the arm, the legs and the smarts and confidence to play in the NFL. In high school, he was All-State in baseball and football, at Oklahoma he was special, a joy to watch.

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