With more than 10,091 yards passing and 104 touchdowns to his credit, Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray would be within his rights if he just kept doing what he’s done. A rising senior, Murray is poised to break virtually every UGA and SEC passing record next season.
It would follow, then, that Murray’s technique and training methods have served him well. Instead, he’s tweaking everything.
Murray went to Oklahoma last week to catch up with quarterback guru George Whitfield. Whitfield, who is based in San Diego, has been nicknamed “The Quarterback Whisperer” for his success working with high-profile quarterbacks such as Andrew Luck, Cam Newton and Ben Roethlisberger, among others.
Murray got to know Whitfield while attending the Elite 11 Quarterback Camp in California, first as a college prospect, then again as a college quarterback. They met last week in Norman, Okla., because Whitfield was going there to tutor Sooners quarterback Landry Jones in advance of his pro day. That Murray wanted to meet in the midst of his spring break at UGA told Whitfield something about his young apprentice.
“When a lot of his teammates are going to Key West and Daytona and Cancun and wherever else, he calls and wants to join me in Norman, Okla., in the middle of spring break,” said Whitfield, founder of Whitfield Athletix. “A lot of college guys want to get as far away from football as they can. He wants to get right in the center of it and do some remedial, tedious work.
“But, you know, he’s a guy who was five yards from winning a national championship. He said it’s one of those feelings where you get that close to it, it just consumes you, and he just wants everything as sharp as possible.”
Of course, Murray already has a quarterback coach. Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo has handled the Bulldogs’ quarterbacks since joining Mark Richt’s first staff in 2001. And he’s done some pretty good work as well, with the likes of David Greene, D.J. Shockley and Matthew Stafford, among others.
But Bobo said he doesn’t mind Murray getting extra help.
“No, it doesn’t bother me,” Bobo said. “He’s been to the Manning Camp, too. I think anytime you can go somewhere and get one thing or two things that might help you be more accurate or help you with footwork, it’s good. It’s the same in coaching. You’re always looking for one more thing that might be the difference in getting a first down or winning a game. I think it’s a good thing.”
The only qualification Bobo had for Murray was “don’t be messing with your release.” Murray obliged.
“We didn’t just throw my old form out the window,” he said. “It was really about tweaking little things here and there and working on a couple of things.”
Murray had some specific areas he wanted to work on. He talked about drills they ran to help him create more torque in his upper body to create more velocity on his throws and about driving with his left elbow and things like that. But one of the more prevalent topics he and Whitfield discussed was having “a functional protocol in the pocket.”
That’s coach jargon for being able to operate calmly and efficiently under the duress of heavy defensive pressure.
“He’s playing against the best college football players in the country in that conference,” Whitfield said. “Even though Georgia has great guys up front, there’s going to be moments where a defensive end or a linebacker gets through. He doesn’t want to be an easy out. He wants to be able to extend it. A lot of it is about playing well in chaos, playing in comfortable and uncomfortable situations.”
Wanting to improve in those areas is understandable for Murray, especially with South Carolina and LSU early on the docket next season.
Last season, Murray managed only 109 yards on 11-of-31 passing and threw an interception against the Gamecocks and All-American defensive end Jadeveon Clowney. He completed just 50 percent of his passes for 150 yards and threw three interceptions against a hard-charging Florida defense and completed 54.5 percent of his passes with one interception in a narrow loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship game.
Getting rid of the ball more quickly by keeping his throwing motion tighter and more efficient is one way to avoid catastrophes in the pocket. “Escape-ability,” they think, is another.
Murray is down to 207 pounds from the 215 he played at in the Capital One Bowl win over Nebraska, and he’s considering shedding a few more. It’s an attempt to regain some of the mobility he displayed as a freshman.
“I need to move more,” said Murray, who has rushed for nine touchdowns in his three seasons as a starter. “I just felt like I ran a lot more my freshman year than the last couple of years. I was a little more agile.
“I don’t know if the hits have slowed me down or I’m an old man or what, but I felt like I needed to lose a couple of pounds and maybe get five or seven yards if I can.”
However things turn out for Murray next season, Whitfield says he is one of the better and brighter quarterbacks he has worked with. And Whitfield is not like a lot of skeptics who are bearish on Murray’s prospects as a pro. He’s effusive on that subject.
“He’ll absolutely be in the NFL. He’ll have a chance to play for years and years,” Whitfield said. “Really it comes down to three things: functional football intelligence, toughness and accuracy. He has that. And he’s a winner, going from from six or seven wins to 10 wins to 12 wins. You’re watching him track right now.”
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