Former Oklahoma football quarterback Kyler Murray returns to his home state this weekend.
Murray will quarterback the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football in their NFL game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The 2018 Heisman Trophy winner while at Oklahoma grew up in Allen, Texas, just 45 miles from the place affectionately or not known as the “Jerry Dome,” in reference to the Cowboys’ controversial owner Jerry Jones.
This won’t be Murray’s first visit to AT&T Stadium, but it will be his first since being drafted No. 1 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft. Murray has actually played in the stadium six times and was a winner on all six occasions. Four of those times were championship games, three while in high school and the most recent one in 2018, when he led Oklahoma to a 39-27 win over the Texas :Longhorns for the Big 12 championship.
The win over Texas avenged a regular-season loss to the Longhorns and earned the Sooners a fourth consecutive Big 12 crown and a spot in the College Football Playoff, where they faced Alabama in one of the two national semifinal games.
In the 2018 Big 12 championship game, Murray threw for 379 yards and three touchdowns and also ran 10 times for 39 yards.
About the Monday night game with Dallas, Murray told the Associated Press:
"“It means a lot. There have been a lot of memories there, a lot of great memories, obviously playing back home in Texas in front of friends and family.”"
Murray has completed 70 percent of his passes this season for 1,299 yards and eight touchdowns. He ranks 15th in the NFL this season, based on passing yards, and is eighth in terms of completion percentage. The Cardinals have a record of 3-2.
The game with Dallas will also reunite Murray with wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, a former Oklahoma teammate who is in his rookie NFL season with the Cowboys.
"“We had a lot of good success together, a lot of great times,” Murray said. “That’s my boy on and off the field. I wish him nothing but the best, but this weekend he’s on the other side.”"