Big 12 Football: 50 best players of all-time

Big 12 Football best players of all-time: 49. DeMarco Murray, RB, Oklahoma football

DeMarco Murray started out his career with the Sooners on a high note. Following a redshirt campaign in 2006, he ended up posting 764 yards and 13 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman in 2007. What was even more remarkable was his six-yards per carry average, which ended up being the most in his collegiate career.

Murray followed that season up with his first 1,000-yard campaign for Oklahoma. That year started out with a bang, as he had 124 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener against Chattanooga and followed that up with triple digits against Washington.

On the year, Murray had 1,002 yards and 14 touchdowns while also starting to show off his ability to catch the ball as well. The redshirt sophomore had 31 receptions for 395 yards and four more touchdowns, which earned him his first of two nods to the All-Big 12 First Team. His second nomination was in his senior campaign which was, by far, his best in Norman.

Murray had 1,808 yards from scrimmage and 20 touchdowns that year. He finished with 1,214 yards on the ground and added 594 on 71 receptions. In all, he had 3,685 yards and 50 touchdowns on the ground and 1,571 yards on 157 receptions with another 13 touchdowns.

He wound up being selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round of the NFL Draft, which was a steal for them. Perhaps it was his age — running backs don’t typically spend five years in college — but whatever it was, Dallas got a stud in the mid-rounds. Murray continued to be a great pro and even led the NFL in rushing in 2014.

Now, he’s back at Oklahoma as a running backs coach, which came after spending one season with the Arizona Wildcats in the same position.