DeMarco Murray
DeMarco Murray is an American college football coach and former professional player who was a running back in the National Football League for seven seasons. A three-time Pro Bowl selection and one-time first-team All-Pro, he was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2014 after leading the NFL in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns.
Murray played college football at Oklahoma and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round of the 2011 NFL draft. After four seasons with the Cowboys, he played for the Philadelphia Eagles for one year and then the Tennessee Titans for two years. Murray currently serves as running backs coach at Oklahoma.
Early life
Murray attended Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he played football, basketball, and ran track for the Gaels athletic teams. In football, Murray was an All-Conference pick three consecutive years. During his time at Gorman, his team was three-time Conference Champions. As a senior in 2005, Murray rushed for 1,947 yards and 27 touchdowns and also caught 22 passes for 624 yards and seven more touchdowns, earning him All-State honors and the 2005 Sunset Region Offensive Player of the Year award. He also played basketball at Gorman, averaging 6.9 points per game and his high school basketball team went on to win a 2005 state title. Murray was considered a top-30 basketball recruit in the state as well. In track & field, he ran the 100-meter dash and was a member of the 4×100-meter relay squad.Considered one of the top running backs of his class, Murray drew offers from Miami, Penn State, and Texas A&M, among several others. He chose Oklahoma over Southern California at the 2006 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
College career
Murray attended and played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners from 2006–2010.2006–2007 seasons
Murray redshirted the 2006 NCAA football season.In the 2007 season, Murray shared the backfield with Allen Patrick and Chris Brown. In his first game for the Oklahoma Sooners on September 1, 2007, against the North Texas Mean Green, Murray rushed for 87 yards and five touchdowns in the 79–10 victory. He became the first player in school history to score four touchdowns in a half in his debut. On September 15, 2007, in the 54–3 victory over Utah State, Murray set a Sooner record when he had a touchdown run of 92 yards, which is the third longest in Oklahoma football history. In a game against Tulsa, he added two more rushing touchdowns and a kick return touchdown in the 62–21 victory. In the annual rivalry game against #19 Texas, Murray finished with 128 rushing yards, of which 65 yards came on a touchdown run in the third quarter of the 28–21 victory. On November 10, against Baylor, he ran for 95 yards, and three touchdowns along with a kick return touchdown in the 52–21 victory. Overall, Murray finished the 2007 season with 127 carries for 764 yards and tied Adrian Peterson's freshman touchdown record with 15. He logged a 4.40 40 time and a 36.5-inch vertical jump during the 2007 winter testing.
2008 season
In the 2008 season, Murray continued to share the backfield with Chris Brown while newcomer Mossis Madu got some carries as well. Murray started off the 2008 season with 124 yards and two touchdowns in the 57–2 victory over the Chattanooga Mocs. On September 12, against Washington, he rushed for 100 yards in the 55–14 victory. On October 4, against Baylor, Murray ran for 96 yards and two touchdowns in the 49–17 victory. Two weeks later against #16 Kansas, he ran for 83 yards and two touchdowns in the 45–31 victory. In the next game against Kansas State, Murray had 17 carries for 104 yards and two touchdowns to go along with four receptions for 63 yards and two touchdowns in the 58–35 victory. The following week against Nebraska, he added two more rushing touchdowns and another receiving touchdown to his season total in the 62–28 victory. In the 66–28 victory over Texas A&M, Murray had seven carries for 123 yards along with seven receptions for 63 yards and a touchdown. On November 22, he rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns in a 65–21 victory over #2 Texas Tech. In the annual rivalry game against #11 Oklahoma State, Murray rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown and had seven kick returns for 196 net yards in the 61–41 victory. However, Murray tore his hamstring in the Big 12 Championship on the opening kickoff against Missouri, which left him out of the National Championship against Florida.Murray finished the 2008 season with 179 carries for 1,002 yards and 14 touchdowns to go along with 31 receptions for 395 yards and four touchdowns.
2009 season
In the 2009 season, the backfield was largely dominated by the duo of Murray and Chris Brown. In the second game of the Sooners' 2009 season, Murray rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns in the 64–0 victory over Idaho State. On October 10, against Baylor, he had 24 carries for 107 yards in the 33–7 victory. In the next game against #3 Texas, Murray had eight receptions for 116 yards in the 16–13 loss. The following week, he had 15 carries for 62 yards and two touchdowns to go along with four receptions for 28 yards and a touchdown in the 42–30 victory over Kansas State. On November 14, against Texas A&M, Murray had a stellar performance with 80 rushing yards to go along with five receptions for 140 yards and two touchdowns in the 65–10 victory. On November 28, against #11 Oklahoma State, he rushed for 72 yards and two touchdowns in the 27–0 victory. In the 2009 Sun Bowl against #19 Stanford, Murray had 20 carries for 27 yards and the final go-ahead touchdown in the 31–27 victory.Murray finished the 2009 season with 171 carries for 705 yards and eight touchdowns to go along with 41 receptions for 522 yards and four touchdowns.
2010 season
Murray dominated the Sooners' backfield in his final year with the program. Murray started the season off with a strong performance of 208 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Utah State in the 31–24 victory. In the next game against #17 Florida State, he rushed for 51 yards and two touchdowns in the 47–17 victory. The following week against Air Force, Murray ran for 110 yards and his third consecutive game with two rushing touchdowns in the 27–24 victory. In addition, he had five receptions for 38 yards and a touchdown. After posting 67 rushing yards and a touchdown against Cincinnati in the 31–29 win, Murray had 115 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the 28–20 victory over #21 Texas. On October 16, 2010, with 112 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Iowa State in the 52–0 victory, Murray passed running back Steve Owens as the all-time touchdown leader at the University of Oklahoma with 58 touchdowns. On November 20, against Baylor, Murray ran for 62 yards and a touchdown and caught six passes for 120 yards and a touchdown in the 53–24 victory. In his final collegiate game, Murray had 93 rushing yards and a touchdown against #25 Connecticut in the 48–20 victory in the 2011 Fiesta Bowl.Murray finished his last season with the Sooners with 282 carries for 1,214 yards and 15 touchdowns to go along with 71 receptions for 594 yards and five touchdowns. He ended his college career with 65 touchdowns, becoming only the fifth player in Big 12 conference history to score at least 60 career touchdowns.
Murray had 3,685 career rushing yards with 50 touchdowns, 157 career catches with 13 touchdowns, and 1,462 kickoff return yards with two touchdowns. He was a four-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree during his career and graduated from Oklahoma with a degree in communication and a double minor in business and African American studies.
College statistics
University of Oklahoma records
- Former all-time leader in points scored ; surpassed by kicker Michael Hunnicutt in 2014
- All-time leader in touchdowns
- All-time leader in all-purpose yards
- All-time leader in receiving yards for a running back
- All-time leader in kickoff return average
Professional career
Dallas Cowboys
2011 season
Murray was selected in the third round with the 71st overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys. He was the sixth running back chosen in the 2011 draft.On July 29, 2011, Murray signed a four-year contract worth $2.97 million including a signing bonus worth $622,000.
Murray started his rookie year as the third string running back behind starter Felix Jones and second string running back Tashard Choice. From Week 1 to Week 4, Murray had 14 carries for 39 yards and added three receptions for 16 yards. On October 16, the Cowboys traveled to Gillette Stadium to face the New England Patriots. Felix Jones went down with a high-ankle sprain, which increased the amount of opportunities for Murray. Murray finished the day with 11 carries for 34 yards and added one reception for seven yards in the 20–16 loss.
With the Cowboys owning a record of 2–3, they faced the St. Louis Rams in Week 7. Felix Jones was declared out for the game due to the high ankle sprain injury sustained the week before. The team declared Tashard Choice as the starter for the game and Murray as the second-string running back. Murray had 25 carries for 253 yards and a touchdown during the 34–7 victory, breaking Emmitt Smith's single-game rushing record for a Cowboys running back of 237 yards set at Philadelphia against the Eagles on October 31, 1993. The record total included a first-quarter 91-yard touchdown run that was the longest rush of the 2011 season and was second-longest in Cowboys history, after an NFL-record 99-yard run by Tony Dorsett in January 1983. Among the other records Murray set during this game were a rookie rushing record for a game in franchise history, previously held by Dorsett with 206 yards in 1977. Murray’s 10.1 yards-per-carry is the highest rushing average with 20-or-more attempts for a game in club history, previously held by Dorsett with 8.96 in 1977, the tenth most rushing yards in a game in league history, the second-most rushing yards in a game by a rookie in league history, the second-longest touchdown run on a player's first career rushing touchdown in league history, and the most rushing yards by a running back in one game ever allowed by the Rams in franchise history. Murray earned the Rookie of the Week award and FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week for his game against the Rams. After the Rams game, Tashard Choice was released leaving the team with only two healthy running backs, rookie Phillip Tanner and Murray, with Felix Jones still sidelined with an injury. Murray's historic day ended up being the most rushing yards by a single player in any game in the 2011 season.
Murray followed his record-breaking game by getting his first NFL start against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8. In Weeks 8 and 9, Murray totaled 30 carries for 213 yards for a 7.1 average and five receptions for 45 yards in a 34–7 road loss to the Eagles and a 23–13 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. With his second game with at least 100 rushing yards of the season, Murray became the first Cowboy since Julius Jones in 2004 to post multiple games with at least 100 rushing yards as a rookie. With 466 rushing yards over the last three games, Murray tied Eric Dickerson for the fifth-highest total all-time by an NFL rookie during a three-game span. The record is 577 set by Mike Anderson of the Denver Broncos in 2000. The 466 rushing yards in the three game span is the most ever by any Cowboys player, surpassing 446 yards by Emmitt Smith during his MVP season of 1993.
From Weeks 10 to 13, Murray had 79 carries for 333 yards and a touchdown for a 4.21 average and added 16 receptions for 109 yards as the Cowboys went 3–1 during this stretch. In Week 10 against the Buffalo Bills, he fumbled the ball for the first time in his NFL career, although the fumble was recovered by Murray himself. In Week 14 against the New York Giants, Murray carried the ball five times for 25 yards and added a reception for six yards before suffering a fractured right ankle and high ankle sprain that ended his rookie season. Murray was named NFL Rookie of the Month for the month of November.
At the end of the 2011 season, Murray led all NFL rookie players in average per carry, yards per game and rushing yards on 164 carries. Murray tied for third among rookie players for rushing touchdowns with two; Carolina Panthers' quarterback and 2011 Rookie of the Year Cam Newton led all rookie players with 14 rushing touchdowns. Murray also was 14th in receptions among all rookie players and second among rookie running backs with 26 receptions. He finished fourth in receiving yards among rookie running backs with 183. Among all NFL running backs, Murray with seven starts in 12 games, tied for the second-highest average per carry for a running back with 80 or more carries trailing only Darren Sproles' 6.9 yards per carry on 63 attempts. Murray's 897 rushing yards ranked 22nd among all NFL running backs and ninth in the NFC. The Cowboys went 5–0 for the season when Murray received 20+ touches in the game and 2–5 when he did not. In the five games where Murray got 20 or more touches, starting quarterback Tony Romo averaged a passer rating of 112.10, 246.6 yards per game, along with 12 combined touchdown passes with two interceptions and a 66.99% pass completion rate.