The curious case of Kyler Murray: two-sport star?

Throughout the history of sports, we have seen some of the most gifted athletes play their prospective sports.

We have seen the likes of greats like Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Jerry Rice all excel at the highest level of their sport, putting up stats and records that might not ever be broken. It is hard enough to excel at one sport. Which makes excelling at two sports that much special.

There have only been a few athletes that have been able to play two sports simultaneously...and do them well.

First, you have Bo Jackson. 

Bo knows football. Bo knows baseball. Bo knows everything. He was the 1985 Heisman Trophy Award winner while playing running back for the University of Auburn. He rushed that season for 1,786 yards with 17 touchdowns on his way to a career rushing total of 4,303 yards. Not only was he able to attain this astronomical stats playing football, but in the same year, he batted .401 with 17 Home Runs  43 RBI's in 42 games. This led Jackson to be drafted #1 overall in the 1986 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He told the Bucs that he would not sign with them if he was drafted by them. They did anyways. So he decided to play baseball. He was drafted in the 4th round by the Kansas City Royals. In 1987, he was drafted again, but this time by the Oakland Raiders. He went on to be quite successful with both the Raiders and Royals before a freak hip injury ultimately ended his sporting career. 

Next you had Deion Sanders. 

As his nicknames described, "Neon Deion" or "Prime Time" excelled as a defensive back for the Florida State Seminoles in route to being drafted 5th overall in the 1989 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons. He was also drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 6th round  four years prior, but opted not to sign with them. He later was drafted by the New York Yankees and opted to play with them while discussing a new contract with the Atlanta Falcons. In order to make his traveling easier and give him the opportunity to be a two sport star, Deion Sanders ended up signing with the Atlanta Braves year later, in order to be the biggest named athlete in Atlanta. 

In football, Sanders became a first ballot Hall of Famer, with 53 interceptions, 10 defensive touchdowns and nine return (kick and punt) touchdowns. In baseball, though the stats were not crazy, he still hit a respectable .263 with 39 Home Runs and 186 Stolen Bases as a leadoff hitter. 

While there have been other players that have attempted to venture the two-sport avenue (like the aforementioned Jordan), none have really been that successful, like these two were. 

Which gets me to Kyler Murray (pictured earlier), the 2018 Heisman Trophy Award winner as the Quarterback for the University of Oklahoma. Murray followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, 2017 Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield, helping the University of Oklahoma to have back-to-back Heisman Trophy Winners. Murray finished this past season with 3,674 yards passing to go along with 37 passing touchdowns, only seven interceptions and 11 rushing touchdowns. He did that in his first year of starting for the team.

Murray, this past MLB draft, was also drafted by the Oakland Athletics with the ninth pick in the first round. He was given a $4.76 million signing bonus with the assurance that he would only play one year of college football and would not play professional football. The stipulation was that he would have to return the signing bonus if he was to do so, but the Athletics would still retain his baseball rights. 

However, in recent weeks, it has been suggested that Murray is thinking about taking a chance with the NFL. Pundits and draft analyzers are suggesting that Murray could end up being a First Round pick in the upcoming 2019 NFL draft. With the way the NFL has changed rules, helping Quarterbacks stay healthier by issuing penalties on defensive players that tackle QB's low, high...pretty much anywhere, QB's are putting up astronomical stats. With the way Murray plays, quick releases of passes and using his speed to dodge defenders, today's NFL would work perfectly for him while protecting his health. 

While it would be a big risk for him to take a chance on the NFL, risking injury and maybe not ever being able to play baseball again, I truly do hope he gives it a shot. And in the same turn, I hope the Athletics give him the chance to be a two-sport star. We have not seen the likes of an athlete of his caliber in many years and athletes like him do not come around often. 

It truly would be a waste to see a player that put up the kind of stats he did in his first year of being the starting QB not be able to light up the NFL world. But hey, it still has been amazing to see him excel at both sports, something we may never see again.

What do you guys think he will do? Let me know in the comments and thanks for stopping by to read my opinion!

@jgullinese