Oklahoma football: Five bold not-so-great predictions for the 2018 Sooners
By Chip Rouse
Kyler Murray will not remain the starting quarterback the entire season
Head coach Lincoln Riley insists that no OU quarterback has won the starting job yet, but the universal belief is that Kyler Murray will be the starter for the season opener against Florida Atlantic on Sept. 1.
Murray brings a much different dimension to the Sooner offense than we have seen in a number of years. He is one of the fastest players on the team and gives Oklahoma a legitimate dual threat who can beat you with his legs as well as his arm.
Since Bob Stoops entered the picture nearly two decades ago, Oklahoma has gone with more of a spread-formation offense with quarterbacks who were highly adept at putting the ball in the air with exceptional touch and accuracy (three Sooner quarterbacks have won the Heisman Trophy over that span).
In the Wishbone years, OU would put the ball in the air maybe 50 times in an entire season. That is in stark contrast to the number of pass attempts the Sooners have in a single game in Riley’s Air Raid offense.
Murray doesn’t get the credit he should as a passer. Believe me, he would not be starting at QB at Oklahoma — not in the current offensive scheme, anyway — if he did not have the arm strength and skills to complete passes. The mere fact, however, that he will be toting the football on the ground more than most OU quarterbacks of the recent past is cause for concern.
Running quarterbacks are at greater risk for injury and take more of a physical pounding than the more pro-style passing QBs, which is what Austin Kendall, Murray’s chief competition for the quarterback job, is.
If, for whatever reason, Murray were to play more conservatively (say, to avoid injury that could potentially impact his professional baseball career with the Oakland A’s organization), that could take away one of his weapons and make him less effective throwing the football. In which case, Riley might turn to Kendall to take greater advantage of the Air Raid attack.
One way or another, Kyler Murray won’t be the Oklahoma starting quarterback the entire season.