MURRAY’S MARKS
The following are SEC records owned by Georgia senior quarterback Aaron Murray:
Touchdown passes: 117
Total offense: 13,348 yards
Passing yards: 12,983
Completions: 903
At approximately 11:30 a.m. Friday, Lauren and Denny Murray piled into their silver Ford Expedition in Tampa, Fla., and made another seven-hour drive to Athens to see their son play football at Sanford Stadium. It’s a familiar drive, an almost unconscious routine. They’ve already done it 28 times now over the past five years.
After Saturday, they’ll do it no more.
“It’s been a week of nostalgia, just reminiscing,” said Lauren Murray, who gave birth to Aaron Murray 23 years and 13 days ago. “It’s hard to believe. It feels like it’s been the blink of an eye.”
Perhaps, but a lot has happened since the Murray family showed up on the UGA campus the first week of January 2009. You may have heard that the Murrays’ son set a record or two. In fact, he’ll set another one against Kentucky on Saturday night just by walking onto the field.
Murray will start his 52nd consecutive game as the Bulldogs’ quarterback. That’s one more game than David Greene started, who also used to have all of Georgia’s passing and offensive records that are now in Murray’s possession. Murray has those, as well as most of the passing marks in SEC history.
Murray is one of 28 players who will be honored during Senior Day ceremonies before Georgia’s final home game of the season. But considering what he has accomplished, how he has conducted himself and the effort he has put forth, it is not a stretch to say Murray will be the featured player in that group.
“Everybody always cheers more for Murray,” said senior offensive guard Dallas Lee, who roomed their first year on campus. “He’s the starting quarterback at Georgia. They should. We cheer for him, too. Nobody cares who’s starting on the offensive line, but the offensive line cheers for Murray all the time. So we can’t blame people.”
It’s hard to imagine Murray endearing himself more to the “Bulldog Nation” than he already had, but he might have done that Saturday with his performance against Auburn. Facing a 20-point deficit with 12:39 to play, Murray led a furious Georgia comeback.
He threw two touchdown passes, then ran for another with 1:49 remaining to give the Bulldogs an unlikely 38-37 lead over the No. 7-ranked Tigers. Had it stood up, it would have been the biggest fourth-quarter comeback by Georgia since 1942.
Alas, it did not. The Bulldogs’ defense gave it back on a 73-yard bomb with 25 seconds to go. Nevertheless, the cheers are expected to be thunderous Saturday night when Murray’s name is called during the middle of ceremonies that are set to begin about 15 minutes before the 7 p.m. kickoff.
And at least some of the applause should be reserved for Murray’s parents. They are, after all, the ones who created this freakishly poised and polished human being. And they’ve been there for every step as Murray morphed from scout-team quarterback to iconic legend.
Since Murray became the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback Sept. 4, 2010, his parents have attended all but one of their son’s games, home and away. They were unable to go to Auburn on Nov. 10 last year because Denny was recovering from radiation treatment for cancer.
Other than that, they’ve been in some stadium somewhere for every game Aaron has played and nine other games in which he didn’t play as a freshman. That’s 61 games in all.
Most of the time, they’re fleeting visits.
“At home games the first time we get to see him is the Dawg Walk,” Lauren Murray said. “After the game, it will be super late by the time he finishes with showering and the media. We’ll probably just get to say good night. Sunday we have brunch, and then we take off because he goes (to the football complex) and watches film.”
And that’s a big key for the Bulldogs (6-4, 4-3 SEC) when it comes to Saturday’s pregame festivities. It’s a nice gesture toward the seniors, and they appreciate it. But the players are focused on beating Kentucky and finishing with a winning SEC record.
“We still have to go out there and play football,” said Murray, who owns SEC records for touchdown passes (117), total offense (13,348), passing yards (12,983) and completions (903). “At the end of the day, we all know we’re extremely blessed. There are so many people that wish they could strap on that ‘G’ and go out there and play in Sanford Stadium. We understand we are privileged to have that opportunity.”
Said senior tight end Arthur Lynch: “I’m just more excited to get it out of the way and be with my teammates one last time in Sanford Stadium. To me, it’s probably the prettiest set-up we have in college football. The whole idea of Athens during the fall and 90,000 will be there and our families will get to watch us play. It’s pretty cool. But all I really care about is whether we win the game and take care of business when it comes down to it.”
In many ways, Senior Night is more about the mothers and fathers who have made their weekly treks to see their sons play.
“We’ve made so many friends, so many people who have just become really, really close to us,” Lauren Murray said. “Who knew? We had no idea what it’d be like. The Dawg Nation definitely opened their arms up to us and hugged us the whole way.”
Their son Aaron has hugged back.
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