ATHENS – The first time Georgia tight end Orson Charles saw Aaron Murray, they were on opposite sides. Charles played for Riverview High School, Murray for Plant High, both in Tampa, and they competed in a 7-on-7 tournament.
Murray, the Bulldogs quarterback, left a lasting impression with his throws and energy that day, stuff that made his opponent want to join him.
"He was throwing balls that you don't really see on an every-day basis," Charles said. "He was just jumping up and down with his teammates and clapping, firing them up, and he was a warrior. He knew how to win. I was like, ‘Man, I want to play for that guy.'"
After that season, Charles made it happen, forming a strong bond that continues. He transferred to Plant and joined forces with Murray to win Florida's Class 5A state championship. Not coincidentally, they followed each other to UGA, both signing with the Bulldogs in 2009.
Charles said he's beginning to see the same Murray that so enamored him before.
"He's having more fun," Charles said. "He's more relaxed. I feel like the game is starting to slow down for him. He's calling the defenses out, getting the ball out, making his reads. He's just being Aaron."
A year ago, Murray was an unknown commodity as a Georgia quarterback. As a redshirt freshman, he took over as the starter largely by default. There was no competition for him once Zach Mettenberger was jettisoned from the team by a disciplinary dismissal.
Murray was impressive. Georgia averaged 32.1 points per game – fourth among SEC teams – and the quarterback wrapped up his first year with the second-best pass efficiency rating in school history (154.48) and No. 2 all-time in the SEC for total offense by a freshman (3,216 yards).
"Aaron was trained in a way that created some habits that really helped him protect the ball, helped him make some good decisions and be a great ball-handler, all those things you want a quarterback to do," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "He did a super job. Now he's had a season to live through it and I think all those great habits are going to serve him well the rest of his career."
The Bulldogs also stumbled to their first losing record in 15 seasons, and Murray has the scars to show for it. He has two prominent reminders on his chin. One, he said, is from Auburn's Nick Fairley; the other from "somebody from Arkansas."
His stats were decent. Murray completed 61 percent of his passes for 3,049 yards with 24 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. He also ran for four TDs.
Accordingly, Murray has been a runaway pick as the All-SEC quarterback in most preseason polls, including the league coaches'. Perhaps they're aware of Richt's record with a returning starter at quarterback: It's 55-11 (.833), or an average of 11 wins per season.
While the respect Murray is getting outside of Athens is notable, it carries equal impact inside the Bulldogs' locker room.
"Last year he was mainly getting the play in and trying to execute," senior center Ben Jones said. "This year he's in there motivating us, telling us to finish, telling us to dominate the defense. He's really stepped up in the leader role for the offense."
Murray is similarly popular with the fan base. Cornerback Brandon Boykin teases that Murray is the player most girls on campus swoon over. The quarterback's No. 11 jersey has popped up as a fashion choice within the Bulldog Nation.
"That's actually kind of weird to me," Murray said of fan adulation. "I feel like I'm still a little kid; I still have a little-kid personality. I try to be as goofy and light-hearted as I can be. ... I'm just going out there and having fun and doing something I love to do."
In many ways Murray still is that goofy kid from Tampa. One of his summer highlights was taking in the midnight premiere of the new Harry Potter movie, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II." He and his friends arrived at 10 p.m. to get in a line that had already formed around the theater, a fact that didn't go unnoticed.
"A couple of people did recognize me," Murray said. "I was thinking, ‘Oh, man, I probably should have gone dressed up as Harry Potter or something.' It was me, Artie [Lynch] and some other people. We had a good ol' time. We only got a couple of hours of sleep before the morning run, but we had to suck it up for Harry Potter."
However, when Murray steps between the lines, he's brings only a serious approach.
"Aaron's really a coach's dream in how he approaches the game," Richt said. "He understands preparation. He understands team. His motivation is for Georgia to win. His motivation is to see his teammates have success. His motivation is not to promote self. When you have a guy like that, it just makes your life a whole lot easier."
Murray said continuous improvement is the key for him, and he believes he has plenty to upgrade. He spent this summer breaking down every pass he threw, paying particular attention to the incompletions and interceptions.
"When I look at my incompletions, my feet weren't in the right position," he said. "That might come down to conditioning, my legs getting tired in the fourth quarter. I don't know what it is, but right now I feel great. I feel like I could play five quarters."
It's that kind of leadership, that kind of attention to detail, that compelled Charles to follow Murray to Athens.
"I definitely made that move because of him," Charles said of his decision to sign with Georgia. "In the end, he said he just wanted me to go where I wanted to go. He said, ‘I'd love for you to come to Georgia, but this is your life. You can't have any regrets.'"
Charles appears very content.
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