Heading into his final season at Georgia, Aaron Murray forsook the sandy beaches and frothy beverages of Cancun with the rest of the spring breakers.
Instead, he chose to work on the finer points of passing the football with guru George Whitfield in breezy 40-degree weather in Norman, Okla.
“I had to go there for Landry Jones’ Pro Day preparations, and so he came,” Whitfield said recently. “We’re in the cold, and here he was getting text messages from his buddies in Cancun and other warmer places.”
Now, that’s dedication.
“He had a sweat suit on, and I was chasing him all over the football field,” Whitfield said. “It mattered to him. He spent a week in Oklahoma for the betterment of his team.”
Murray went on to turn in another spectacular season before suffering a knee injury Nov. 23 in the second quarter of Georgia’s 59-17 win over Kentucky on Senior Night. He had surgery the following Tuesday.
After trips to the Senior Bowl and the NFL scouting combine to meet with NFL teams, Murray’s in the final month of rehab. He’s set to return to the field at Georgia’s Pro Day on April 16.
Murray believes that his meetings with teams were productive.
“When you get a chance to sit down with the head coaches, the offensive coordinators, whoever it may be, you just have to impress them with your knowledge of the game, understanding of the game,” Murray said. “I tried to impress them with my knowledge of the game of offenses and defenses.”
Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, a former Georgia standout, helped Murray prep for his unconventional draft process.
“He’s given me some advice,” Murray said. “(I’ve received advice) from former Georgia quarterbacks like David Greene, D.J. Shockley, guys that have played in the league for a little bit who have been great mentors my entire career at Georgia. They also gave me some tips.”
Murray had some player-to-player counseling to deal with the knee injury, too.
“I talked to guys like Marcus Lattimore,” he said. “I’ve talked to him a great deal just about his recovery. Obviously his was a little bit more extreme than mine, but I just wanted to know what he did and the rehab process to getting back and going. He’s been a huge help as well.”
Whitfield has tutored some of the NFL’s top quarterbacks, including Carolina’s Cam Newton, Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger and Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck. He doesn’t believe that Murray’s injury will hurt his draft status.
“The teams have gone back in and looked at his body of work,” said Pat Dye Jr., Murray’s agent. “And it’s really impressive. He’s the all-time passer in many regards in the SEC. Which is like a Triple-A league to the NFL. Another thing that resonates is Aaron’s intangibles.”
Murray is projected to go as early as the late second round or in the third round.
Some of the teams interested are Cleveland, Jacksonville, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Arizona.
“For him, just obviously getting back healthy is his priority,” Whitfield said. “From the neck up and from his experiences on Saturday, he’s battle-tested.”
Murray put up gaudy numbers at Georgia, but there’s a more important underlying notion beneath the completions and touchdown passes.
“He’s improved steadily,” Whitfield said. “They steadily improved as a program with his hands on the wheel. I think that’s invaluable. That’s the bottom line for him.”
That will suggest to NFL teams that Murray’s a learner and perhaps will embrace what he’s taught and continue to progress.
For Murray’s critics, who question his physical stature, Whitfield has a simple answer.
“You’ve got to press play (on the DVR),” Whitfield said. “All of those numbers are real, but you’ve got to go back and press play. Every single Saturday, as a four-year starter he improved a program. He had success. He is the same size going into the NFL as he was playing against future NFL players when they were all on their way up in the SEC.”
Much has been made about Murray’s height. He measured 6-foot, 1/2-inch at the combine.
“You didn’t see balls getting batted down at the line,” Whitfield said. “You didn’t see him being challenged to go vertically and all of those sorts of things. You saw that Georgia ran a full NFL-prototype offense with him, both under center and out of the gun.
“He threw to the perimeter and vertically. Even bigger than that, he made decisions against some of the best athletes in college football. He can make all of the throws. Arm strength is not an issue. He’s got a big engine. It’s just not a Hummer.”
Murray didn’t have any problems seeing over some huge lines at Georgia.
“I really haven’t had any trouble at all,” Murray said. “I think it was two or three years ago we had, on paper, the biggest offensive line in the world. We had the biggest offensive line in college and pro. We averaged like 6-4, 6-5, like 320 pounds, and I threw for like 35 or 36 touchdowns that year. So, no problems at all.”
Clearly, Murray knows how to deliver his passes.
“As a quarterback you’re not really looking over offensive linemen, you’re looking through throwing lanes,” he said. “You just have to be able to use your feet, maneuver around the pocket, be able to stay in the position to throw the ball accurately and deliver the strike.”
When he takes to the practice field in a month, Murray knows what’s at stake.
“I’ll have to go out there and have an awesome Pro Day,” he said.
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