QB Aaron Murray’s ‘nerdy’ approach helps him net records, wins for Bulldogs
Aaron Murray's record-setting pace of production for Georgia has been as much the result of preparation as it has been inherent talent. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
ATHENS — Georgia’s Aaron Murray is the proverbial big man on campus. Coeds fawn when he walks past the bus stop. TV broadcasters and opposing coaches wax eloquent about his athletic ability and uncanny decision-making skills. Sanford Stadium is dotted every Saturday with little boys wearing No. 11 jerseys and dreaming of growing up to be like him.
But that’s not the way his teammates think of him.
“He’s a nerd,” said wide receiver Tavarres King, one of Murray’s closer friends. “He’s always studying, and he already knows so much. It’s hard to even talk to him outside of football because it’s always going to get back to football, whatever we’re talking about.”
Said wideout Michael Bennett: “He’s got some weird study habits when it comes to quarterback. He’s in here [at the football complex] all the time. He spends a weird amount of hours in here. … Sundays he’s in here real early. Saturdays he comes back here right after a game. He’s here five or six hours a day. It’s all football with him.”
Sure, Murray is physically gifted. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound quarterback is faster than most think, bigger and stronger than generally given credit for and in possession of a throwing arm that’s starting to give NFL scouts cause for pause.
But that’s not what has made him into the record-setting passer he has become for the Bulldogs. That, those around him contend, is a result of his bookish approach to the position.
“Aaron just prepares really like no one we’ve had,” said Georgia coach Mark Richt, who has had David Greene, the quarterback with the most wins in NCAA history when he left, and Matthew Stafford, an NFL No. 1 draft pick, among his quarterbacks. “And we’ve had guys that work hard. All of our guys work hard at preparing, but Murray just takes it to another level in how he prepares for the game.”
An exceptional student, Murray has found a way to take an academic approach to football. The fourth-year junior already holds an undergraduate degree in psychology. Now he’s well into his graduate studies in industrial-organizational psychology. It’s actually a doctoral program in which students can get a master’s degree along the way.
Murray has found a way to use his field of study to help him on the field of play. His first step was to write a paper on the leadership qualities of successful NFL quarterbacks. Murray studied quarterbacks such as Drew Brees of the Saints and Tom Brady of the Patriots and looked for similarities in their leadership qualities and styles of play.
This summer he took that project a step further. He fashioned the information he had gathered into a long and detailed survey. He distributed them to the entire team, coaches included.
“I wanted to assess my leadership skills and just figure out ways in which I could improve different aspects of my leadership,” Murray said. “One of my main goals coming into the season was to become the best leader I could be. So I got some great feedback.”
Murray figures 60 to 70 players returned the surveys. Some of them weren’t sure what to make of it.
“I was like, ‘why do we have to fill this out, man? I don’t want to do this,’” Bennett said with a laugh. “I think everybody on the team was thinking that.”
Said Richt: “I thought it took a little bravery to do that, to hear what your peers have to say, to hear what your coaches have to say. He was looking for a gut-level answer and he had to be willing to do something about it. I thought it was good.”
So what did Murray learn?
“The majority [of the feedback] was actually very good,” he said. “I think the one area that was lowest was me getting onto the guys more. Not being so nice, basically. So that was one improvement I needed to make. Sometimes you’ve got to get tough as a leader and make sure guys are focused and doing the right thing.”
Hard to argue with the production Georgia is getting out of Murray this season. He enters Saturday’s game against Tennessee ranked eighth in the nation in pass efficiency (182.43) and tops in the country among quarterbacks with 100 or more attempts in yards per attempt (10.5) and yards per completion (15.83).
Murray already has passed for 1,092 yards and 10 touchdowns with only two interceptions. More important, he is directing an offense that leads the SEC in points (47.5 pg) and total yards (530 pg).
It’s unclear whether it’s the result of leadership surveys, hours in the film room or just the plain and simple fact that he will start his 32nd game as Georgia’s quarterback Saturday. More than likely it’s a combination of it all.
“Aaron has always done a great job of preparing himself and recognizing what’s going on,” offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo said. “He’s just kind of taken it to another level.”
It’s not like Murray had been dogging it. He established a school record with 35 touchdowns passes last season. Heading into Saturday’s game he needs just four more to surpass Greene’s record of 72 career TD passes.
“It took me four years to do that,” said Greene, who graduated in 2005, and now lives in Grayson and runs a corporate insurance business. “To do what he’s done over the three-year period has been phenomenal. He’s special. He’s doing something that’s never been done at the University of Georgia. We’ve been fortunate to have Aaron Murray.”
Yes, being a nerd can be cool.
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181 comments Add your comment
ATLNative
September 26th, 2012
10:53 am
AM’s work ethic is impressive! and CMR and CBobo were excellent college QB’s, so its no surprise UGA is one of the best in training the position. Mett really screwed up.
WDE
September 26th, 2012
10:53 am
@Nothing Could Be Finer I think Connor Shaw will be hoofing it a bit also…should be a very interesting game…I saw Vandy chasing him around a good bit and our weak OL handled them petty well.
kingdaddy
September 26th, 2012
11:00 am
@ Nothing
Please explain the difference in the way the “chickens” barely escaped Vandy with a W, while we initiated one of the worst beatdowns on Vandy in the Franklin era? Try and make it short and no crying please…
Neutral
September 26th, 2012
11:08 am
Right on WDE and I’ll take our boys any day over “Clown and Company”!!!
kingdaddy
September 26th, 2012
11:21 am
Things I was worried about…
#1. Special Teams…looks improved so far, especially the tackling. Not completly sold on our kicker yet,but he will get better as he matures. He has done a fair job and we have not had to rely on many FGs…
#2. Coach Bobo’s play-calling…is anyone else impressed besides me? Balance, balance, balance.Weapons coming out of his ears. I would like to see more swing passes and more passes to TEs, but you are in denial if you think he isn’t doing a great job.
#3. Young Offensive Line…with help from the TEs and FBs, CWF has done an outstanding job. Trust me, David “Boss” Andrews will be fine at Center. Coach Friend may have done more with less, than any coach in our league…
#4. Team staying out of trouble…yeah, this is a biggey. I want to thank this team for coming togeather and becoming a “team”
joe jenkins
September 26th, 2012
11:24 am
Murray only needs to worry about tenn….the ranked teams are coming….I believe murray will beat some ranked teams this year……..Murray will continue to play well as long as the OL holds up….he is going to break all of uga records before he leaves…His time will come he will beat a ranked team book it!
ugab
September 26th, 2012
11:26 am
Murray is a DGD!!!! I love his work ethic. It was good to see him “get onto” Lynch for run blocking, instead of running a route. THAT’S LEADERSHIP. Murray can not win games on his own. The vandy game was a complete game. It was good to see the OL run block for a change. UT will have better athelets. UT will pass the ball all night. THIS WILL BE A CLOSE GAME!!! It could come down to penalties and turnovers for the outcome. The dawgs need to bring there A-game.
ugab
September 26th, 2012
11:31 am
What is the Qb doing that is wanting to take a redshirt this season.? Is he going to be ready to play? Is he going to be ready to play when A.M. leaves uga.?Hopefully he is working hard to be the starter one day. I hope all the qbs are taking notes from AM.
WDE
September 26th, 2012
11:33 am
@ugab good points we can never take UT lightly but, I think we as many returning players from last year that remember the 0-2 start and the pressure to win that caused they won’t be looking down the road..one at a time get the W and rinse and repeat.
Tech Sucks
September 26th, 2012
11:37 am
Murray is Money. The Jury isn’t out @sshat.
Nothing Could Be Finer
September 26th, 2012
11:42 am
haha
Love how dogs fans look at the Vandy games to make a comparison.
You can also look at the Mizzou games and see that USC completely manhandled a team that had Ga struggling for much of th game.
Neutral
September 26th, 2012
11:46 am
I have an important question for all the negative bloggers. When UGa beats SC…..what happens when SC also loses to LSU and FL and is no longer ranked? Will the Dawgs and Murray get credit for beating a “ranked team” or not? Seems like the naysayers keep changing the rules as we go along. Example: Auburn and GT were both ranked last year (early on)….and UGa beat the snot out of both of them. Kinda like the idiots who say UGa’s opponents this year have a losing record. Well, knuckleheads…..if UGa had lost to those 4 teams then they would have winning records!!!
Pitbull
September 26th, 2012
11:48 am
I am confused about something and am hoping someone can provide informed clarification:
Did Murray redshirt a year and does he technically have a year of eligibility left after this year?
If so, I would like to see him come back next year for his final year of eligibility.
What does anyone know about this?
Chip are you monitoring this blog? Do you know?
Neutral
September 26th, 2012
11:51 am
Mizzou prepared for UGa for an entire year. The game was on Mizzou’s home field, first SEC game and according to their coach it was the biggest and most anticipated game in school history. Also, UGa was without 4 superstars. Now, with that said why don’t you explain the SC-Vandy game since you are such an expert…..meathead!!!!
Nothing Could Be Finer
September 26th, 2012
11:52 am
Neutral
September 26th, 2012
11:46 am
I have an important question for all the negative bloggers. When UGa beats SC…..what happens when SC also loses to LSU and FL and is no longer ranked? Will the Dawgs and Murray get credit for beating a “ranked team” or not?
—————————-
Are you that desperate?
Nothing Could Be Finer
September 26th, 2012
11:53 am
Neutral
September 26th, 2012
11:51 am
Mizzou prepared for UGa for an entire year. The game was on Mizzou’s home field, first SEC game and according to their coach it was the biggest and most anticipated game in school history. Also, UGa was without 4 superstars. Now, with that said why don’t you explain the SC-Vandy game since you are such an expert…..meathead!!!!
——————–
LOL
Vandy coaches proclaimed that the Carolina game was their “Superbowl”
kingdaddy
September 26th, 2012
11:54 am
Things I am still worried about…
#1. Conplacency, a feeling of contentment and self-satisfaction in conjunction with an unawareness of danger or trouble ahead. I keep saying “One game at a time! ” UT can beat us if we let down our guard looking ahead to SC. Tenn. wants to win this game bad. They are aware UGA has a very good team and will play-up to us. Question is, will we play down to them? We have a history of doing this…
#2. Should Ogeltree & Rambo start??? I think we should “work” them in, not start them. They should have to play themselves into a starting role…
#3. Will our players continue to stay out of trouble??? Our opposition is waiting to pounce on any Bulldawg that messes up. We haven’t given them anything to cry about lately. This is good…
#4. There is no #4 if we watch #1…
SteveDawgFan
September 26th, 2012
11:55 am
As an anti-Bobo guy, I have to admit that Bobo has finally found his green notebook. I think the hard work of AM and the great recruiting has brought together a perfect storm. Hopefully we will not fall victim to the same timing issue that haunts another Murray (Andy). Hitting this long awaited peak in the midst of other dominant competitors (Bama, SC, and LSU [ Federer, Joker, Nadal]) hitting theirs, is going to make it tough. But could also make it much sweeter. GO Dawgs!!!!
Neutral
September 26th, 2012
11:56 am
I think Murray has 1 year left after this one. Probably comes down to where he goes in the draft. I think he is rated around #80 so that would be close to the 3rd round. Also, our redshirt QB is great so do not fear, he could start for most SEC teams.
Nothing Could Be Finer
September 26th, 2012
11:57 am
kingdaddy
September 26th, 2012
11:54 am
Things I am still worried about…
——————————
I’ll fill out #4 for you….
#4. Stopping Marcus Lattimore
ARdawg
September 26th, 2012
11:59 am
Pitbull
Yes, he does have another year but will likely enter the draft
Neutral
September 26th, 2012
12:00 pm
Vandy anticipated the UGa game more than SC…..so I guess it was the super, Supreme Bowl!!!
P.S. No school in history has looked at the SC game as a “super bowl” except possibly Clemson.
ARdawg
September 26th, 2012
12:02 pm
Nothing finer
You can work yourself up in a froth if you need to but, what you need to remember is, we’re better than you. We’re bigger, stronger, faster and much more talented. The only hope you have is that we get outcoached and I have a feeling that Old Bawl Sack mysticism is about worn thin. Lattimore is a great talent but but, can’t carry your chickens past Georgia this time around, we’re too good.
kingdaddy
September 26th, 2012
12:05 pm
@ Nothing
Colonel Sanders was a Bulldawg…
SC has a good team but you only beat Mizz. by what, 20 pts.? We beat them by that at their home without our starters on D. How many pts. did you “manhandle” Vandy by??? Get off our blog before we call the Colonel…
WDE
September 26th, 2012
12:08 pm
@Nothing Could Be Finer yeppers your bunch “manhandled” Mizzou to the tune of a 21 point victory just like we did but we didn’t at night at their house….cluck,cluck,cluck all you want.
Nothing Could Be Finer
September 26th, 2012
12:09 pm
ARdawg
September 26th, 2012
12:02 pm
Nothing finer
You can work yourself up in a froth if you need to but, what you need to remember is, we’re better than you. We’re bigger, stronger, faster and much more talented.
————————————-
You’ll be asking yourself what happened when Murray gets tossed around like a little rag doll (again).
Neutral
September 26th, 2012
12:10 pm
Have you UGa fans noticed how SC fans are starting to act like their coach? They beat UGa 2 years in a row and you would think they had dominated the series and won the Super Bowl……ooooops, according to “nothing could be finer” SC won the super bowl this year at Vandy. Great game Cocks……NOT!!!
Nothing Could Be Finer
September 26th, 2012
12:10 pm
WDE
September 26th, 2012
12:08 pm
@Nothing Could Be Finer yeppers your bunch “manhandled” Mizzou to the tune of a 21 point victory just like we did but we didn’t at night at their house….cluck,cluck,cluck all you want.
————————————
Yea, that TD by Mizzou was garbage with 17 seconds left.
Carolina didn’t need more scores at that point.
frank
September 26th, 2012
12:10 pm
when is this “approach” going to beat a ranked team? I heard he did good on the diving board at the ramsey center though!
Neutral
September 26th, 2012
12:17 pm
And UGa didn’t play an offensive starter in the 4th qtr vs. Vandy…….what’s your point?
ARdawg
September 26th, 2012
12:25 pm
UGA didn’t play many starters at all in the 4th qtr Vandy game. That’s not significant really nor is SC’s win over a hapless Mizzou.
We’re better than SC, they know it and we know it. We were better than SC the last two years. They had Lattimore, we didn’t. We couldn’t get out of our own way last year and snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. I believe chicken luck has played out
Neutral
September 26th, 2012
12:26 pm
Frank, Murray (I mean his team) beat at least 3 teams last year who were “ranked” sometime during the season. We need to get off that one because the trolls change the rules as to who is ranked. SC will not be in the Top 20 in 6 weeks after we (and others) beat them. We’ll have clowns out there saying SC was not a “ranked team” even though intelligent folks know they were. Let’s just go out and have a great year and quit focusing on a NC…..which even Payton and Eli could not
win.
kingdaddy
September 26th, 2012
12:26 pm
@ Nothing
We just pulled out a little bit of “not vanilla” for Vandy. CMR has been “holding-back” just for your little crybaby HC. At least the Vandy game gave you a taste of the beatdown you are going to recieve by UGA. Your team will never recover and will lose many more after we “expose” your chickens to be lameclucks, lol…
ARdawg
September 26th, 2012
12:26 pm
After we dispose of the Vols this week, chickens are in our sights. Should the Vols beat us, chickens are in our sights
Neutral
September 26th, 2012
12:32 pm
Right on guys…..and I love the “Lameclucks” quote!!!! Have you noticed how Mr. Nothing could be finer is struggling so much with his ignorant responses? I really do believe he is an “honor grad” from SC!!!!
kingdaddy
September 26th, 2012
12:38 pm
Nothing must be a proud product of S C highschool systems. They are even worse than Ga.s. A chicken is one of the dumbest of all bird species. Must be why SC loves them. We love them too, especially when we go to Popeye’s, Church’s or YOUR DADDY…COLONEL SANDERS KFC…
kingdaddy
September 26th, 2012
12:41 pm
Nothing could be finer than when he shuts his beak…
Dawglasville
September 26th, 2012
12:44 pm
I hate to take us off of the subject butt… and I mean butt. Google “butt chugging” and see what comes up. I’m shocked and to have this happen on UT week, wow. The only thing that would make this better is if Bray was holding the hose.
Blackberry Cobbler
September 26th, 2012
12:47 pm
I like what I see in Murray this season so far……….. but he still hasn’t proven he can beat a good team when it counts. In big games against good teams he’s always fallen flat with turnovers and poor decisions. Let’s see what he does against TN, SC, Auburn, and FL before bestowing all the accolades. UGA really hasn’t played anybody good yet.
Silly Bloggers
September 26th, 2012
1:06 pm
I get why people doubt Murray. He hasn’t won a big game, and while it is a team effort, I still put a lot of the blame on him for USCe and Michigan State last year. We may not be 4-0 if not for the easy beginning this year as Murray was very, very slow to warm-up and we cannot afford that against Tenn, USCe, or Florida.
Still, this team is beating the teams it should. The Vandy game was utter dominance and it started with Murray coming out of the gate on fire as opposed to waiting until the second half. It is the QB, and more often than not, the team goes as the QB goes. This team has figured out a lot in its first four games which is a credit to both the coaches and the players commitment. If we can get the W this weekend, it is going to be a mean game in Columbia.
All I can say is that USCe looked really, really good defensively against Missouri. They handled them significantly better than we did. On the flip side, we did the same to Vandy which USCe struggled mightily against. Not sure if was early jitters for both teams, having more tape to review for the game, etc.
Just sayin............
September 26th, 2012
1:06 pm
Chip come back to us after he beats his 1st ranked team and then we will all be on board. Until that happens, individual stats are for losers.
Just sayin............
September 26th, 2012
1:08 pm
Silly Bloggers I agree with your post except after watching the replay on SC, Connor Shaw was even more on fire than Murray. I am holding my breath until after the game in Columbia. I am also a little concerned about the Tn cornerbacks. Grantham had better not give Bray all day or it is going to be a long day.
slydog
September 26th, 2012
1:09 pm
In big games, the problem isn’t necessarily Murray, as opposed to BoBo. Let’s see if BoBo will call more screens, slants, and passes to the TE’s when the running game bogs down and the defense doesn’t give you a short field on every other possession against a team that’s just as physically talented as you. BoBo’s doing a great job now because everything is clicking. Remember folks, in sports, 70% of the coaches require good to great players to make themselves seem worth all that money. Some coaches make good to great players even better. BoBo does not strike me as the latter.
chazzo
September 26th, 2012
1:09 pm
I admire Murray’s work ethic. I have always held him in high regard. He is a winner. He is the type of player that other guys like to play with.
(you probably guessed this was coming) BUT
I wish everyone would go a little easier on the accolades for this team including its freshmen backs, young Line and kickers until they face some adversity.
Always held this guy in high regard, but I’ll hold off on Heisman talk until he responds to some more heat.
This is a great team. GO DAWGS!! But keep it real.
dawgfan
September 26th, 2012
1:15 pm
We haven’t beaten ranked teams in recent years because we’ve had no running game and our defense and special teams have been average at best (including last year in our 4 losses). Blaming it on Murray conclusively proves that you know absolutely nothing whatsoever about the game of football and should probably refrain from talking about it forever.
Thanks.
you know who you are
September 26th, 2012
1:17 pm
Take that haters and shove it up your fat a..es, you miserable pieces of s..t for human beings.
kingdaddy
September 26th, 2012
1:17 pm
Blackberry
Don’t blame you for your doubts. Most all of us have lingering doubts, but you can’t lay all the “wins & losses” at Murray’s feet. 11 players on offense must do their job against a “ranked” team to beat them. When the Oline breaks down, or the WRs drop the ball or a RB misses a blocking assignment or a Coach calls a bad play, is that Murray’s fault too? Have faith. We got by Mizz.and Vandy. Now we will concentrate on UT. So far, Murray has done all that has been asked.” Fear is the MIND-KILLER”…
WDE
September 26th, 2012
1:28 pm
@chazzo good points Murray is a fine young man, but he has to win the games in the heart of the schedule to get where he and the team need to go…last year he beat all of our big rivals save SC and then LSU in the Dome….if he can do that this year add SC he has arrived. But I have to say I like the way he is protecting the ball so far this season.
7576DAWG
September 26th, 2012
1:29 pm
chazzo
I don’t think you have anything to worry about. This team is focused. They know they haven’t accomplished anything yet except that they are off to a good start.
The MEDIA is what fuels all this Heisman talk and all this National title talk it’s not the head coaches like Saban and Richt. They both know that they are one injury away from a disaster for their team. If their QB’s go out or a great running back go’s down a lot can change. The reason Richt and a lot of coaches are playing their Freshmen running backs is to build depth at that position in case someone does get hurt. Not as easy to build depth at Quarterback.
Nothing Could Be Finer
September 26th, 2012
1:30 pm
ARdawg
September 26th, 2012
12:25 pm
UGA didn’t play many starters at all in the 4th qtr Vandy game. That’s not significant really nor is SC’s win over a hapless Mizzou.
We’re better than SC, they know it and we know it. We were better than SC the last two years. They had Lattimore, we didn’t.
———————————–
Correction
We still have Lattimore and the dogs still need to learn how to tackle him.