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
ugaclassof2004
September 26th, 2012
1:39 pm
Good points UGA 5-0: all of them.
And I think Murray’s teammates were right in their assessment of him. I’ve seen him get on guys last game which is good to see. I’ll be very frank guys: this Bulldog team will go as far as they want to go. Sure they could lose to Tennessee, South Carolina, or Florida, but it’s going to take exceptional effort from them and a LOT of not caring from us to make that happen. This team this year has shown me that they care. It this team truly wants it, I have no reason to believe why they can’t go 12-0 this season( and this is not coming from some UGA Homer). Are we good enough to beat Bama right now? Honestly, NO( but who knows 2 month’s from now). But everyone else? If we bring our A game, we got a shot, we really do.
kingdaddy
September 26th, 2012
1:40 pm
Haters gon hate. They are scared because they have been seeing their “demise” coming in the form of a Red & Black Horse of their Apocalypse…Win one game at a time. UT is going down just like a good Vandy team that got dismantled. A Vandy team that almost beat a well coached Spurrier team ranked in the top 10. Jarvis & Tree are going to make Bray run for his life. Expect a few new wrinkles for this game, but no more than we have to. CMR is saving his playbook for the “crybaby” lil stevie. Tenn. is a trap game, but when we beat them, the trolls will still say we beat nobody. And when we March through Columbia and burn that stadium to the ground, the trolls will say SC was down for some reason or other, just wait till Fla and so on…One game at a time Doggies…
Nothing Could Be Finer
September 26th, 2012
1:52 pm
Dogs fans, a few requests/advice:
1. Please don’t lose to the Vols – ESPN Gameday would be nice for Oct. 6.
2. Please no injuries vs the Vols – we want to beat you at full strength on Oct. 6.
3. Stop telling yourselves how good you are – you don’t want to embarrass yourselves on Oct 6.
Thank you.
kingdaddy
September 26th, 2012
1:54 pm
@Nothing
How many points did Ashlon & Ingram account for against UGA last year? Lattie is a great back, but he’s not the same RB he was last year and don’t say he’s better because he isn’t. How many points did Lattimore have against us? It will be a good game, but The Dawgs are Waaaaaaaaaaaaay better than a Vandy team that almost kicked your a$$€$ and you know it. All you’re doing is “whistling through the graveyard” right now, lol…
joe jenkins
September 26th, 2012
1:57 pm
Wo cares where sc and tenn are ranked…you beat your rivals at uga…and you remain hbc at uga for a long time. And Richt has done that for the most part. I will be SICK AS HELL IF WE LOSE TO EITHER TEAM. I just hope grantham is the real deal…the jury is still out on him…It just seems like the players havent fully grasped the scheme at times because they don’t know where to lineup and the blow coverages…does that fall on grantham for giving them to much…or the players just are incapable of learning the full sceme a 100%
joe jenkins
September 26th, 2012
2:00 pm
Nothing could be finer than the chickens losing the rest of their games and sending spurrier into retirement!!!!lol
joe jenkins
September 26th, 2012
2:02 pm
I hope we give spurrier a beatdown for running his crybaby redneck mouth the whole summer about our schedule.. columbia=hell on earth and a crack town
Ghost
September 26th, 2012
2:15 pm
@nothing could be finer , S. Carolina is the most tradition-less program in SEC, SC has 16-43-2 record vs Georgia and in history of the series and has never won 3 in a row don’t think it starts this year, cackle after you win something.
Duluth Dawg
September 26th, 2012
2:16 pm
Has anyone seen tide roll?? He hasn’t been on here since the Buffalo game. Oh wait, “Nothing Could Be Finer…” is his new handle. Doesn’t Columbia, SC have a newspaper for you to read?
UGA MAGIC
September 26th, 2012
2:17 pm
Just in…….. I heard Richt asking for fans to wear BLACK Sat. !!!!!!
kingdaddy
September 26th, 2012
2:18 pm
I was stationed at Shaw A.F.B. and Columbia is a blight on the face of the earth. When I drive through there on 26, I pray I don’t break down in that “craphole” of a podunk town. Dumb fans, dumb school & the stupidest mascot on the planet. Chickens eat shiz…
Nothing Could Be Finer
September 26th, 2012
2:24 pm
kingdaddy
September 26th, 2012
2:18 pm
I was stationed at Shaw A.F.B. and Columbia is a blight on the face of the earth. When I drive through there on 26, I pray I don’t break down in that “craphole” of a podunk town. Dumb fans, dumb school & the stupidest mascot on the planet. Chickens eat shiz…
—————————————–
Let me quote you, “haters gon hate”
LOL
See you October 6th for THREE-IN-A-ROW
kingdaddy
September 26th, 2012
2:37 pm
@Nothing
Everything else I said is true too, LMFNAOFF…
7576DAWG
September 26th, 2012
2:41 pm
joe jenkins
Last I heard Georgia has played 23 Freshmen this year. Why would anyone think that there would be blown assignments. They are learning as fast as they can but Georgia will never be as good as Alabama or L.S.U. unless we develop at least two deep and three deep if possible of players at as many positions as possible without the quality of play decreasing.
kingdaddy
September 26th, 2012
2:44 pm
@Nothing
What, you think you gonna find love on a BullDawg Blog? Find a blog for squabs like you. In here, you’re like a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest, ALL TALK…
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
September 26th, 2012
2:50 pm
Guys
Why do yall let a SC fan rowl you up
Its SC
They have only one conference championship and I think that was back when telephone was invented
joe jenkins
September 26th, 2012
2:52 pm
@ghost dont sell ourselves short it’s 46-16 uga baby
Ghost
September 26th, 2012
3:00 pm
joe, i’m not
http://football.stassen.com/cgi-bin/records/opp-opp.pl?start=1869&end=2011&team1=Georgia&team2=South+Carolina
Rabid Dawg 84
September 26th, 2012
3:25 pm
AUBIE was ranked #20 last year! When you crush a ranked team 45-7 on natinal tv, they tend to become unranked. Duh! Aubie went to SCAR (11-2) and won last year.
GA Dawgs
September 26th, 2012
3:34 pm
I BIG reason Aaron Murray and the running are playing at a high level is because of the offensive line play. That was the biggest question in the off season in my opinion and if they stay healthy and continue to play better I expect a great season.
7576DAWG
September 26th, 2012
3:35 pm
Also South Carolina players will remember that we beat them silly last year . Our defense only gave up 22 points. They scored the rest on Georgia’s mistakes. Example, a tackle ran a fake punt back for a touchdown. How many times does that happen in all of College football in a complete year. Our senior field goal kicker missed two chip shots. Even Spurrier admitted he doesn’t see how they beat Georgia last year. Lattimore is definitely still a great back but he doesn’t hit the holes quite as fast as he did before he was injured. If we can contain Clowney and keep Murray from getting killed ,Georgia would have already won the psychological war before the game starts. Murray , Gurley , Marshall and our defense will take care of the rest.
Rabid Dawg 84
September 26th, 2012
3:37 pm
I know it’s Sherbert week, but can some reporter please ask SOS this ?, “Does the SEC schedule rotate or do you unfairly play LSU more than Georgia?” UGA has 3 extra games against LSU that SCAR doesn’t – SECCG!!! When did CMR or any other coach complain about the rotating SEC schedule? I know, just beat the crap out of the Sherberts this week. Nothing else matters. Cock fans get on my nerves sometimes.
truedawg
September 26th, 2012
3:49 pm
Murry has shown improvement for sure. Better ball security and better decisions. This year we have seen great games played by both sides of the ball. Yes it was Vandy, but Vandy has been better and playing teams hard. Also you have to think that Vandy had this game circled for us. I think we got the best Vandy could offer and gave them our best. The players proved alot to me. With a good game plan and a complete effort for 4 qtrs this team can play with anyone in the nation…and win.
As far as saying he’s better than Greene…hard to say. Stats say he will be better, but what about championships? Never compare past players to present players. I’m just thankful that we had Greene and have Murray now. After the chicken game we’ll see how this team looks. If the Dawgs can handle SC like they did Vandy, then I think Bama and LSU will be glad neither of them had to play UGA this year!!
GATA!!!
Georgia’s defense prepares to bring Alec Ogletree, Bacarri Rambo back into fold | UGA sports blog
September 26th, 2012
4:04 pm
[...] QB Aaron Murray’s bookish approach works for him, Bulldogs [...]
chazzo
September 26th, 2012
4:30 pm
WDE, DAWG76,
Thanks for the comments. I think you guys understand that I am not being a neg head. I have defended Murray, Richt, and yes even Bobo for quite a while. I felt like coming in as an RS freshman and taking on a team in transition with a poor running game and pressure from the fans was outstanding. My respect for him skyrocketed when he got up and threw strikes after that jerk Farley drove him into the ground and popped him late.
I do not doubt his ability to win big games. I just think he needs a few of those type of wins to go down as one of the college greats. He’s a winner. He’ll get them.
ARdawg
September 26th, 2012
4:37 pm
chazzo
It is real there guy. Wait for adversity before getting behind the team. That doesn’t make much sense when you think about it does it? I know you’re a DGD chazzo but, c’mon, wait until they’ve beat someone? Is that what you mean?
Preston Thompson
September 26th, 2012
4:41 pm
All you “boasters” might be a little careful. Just saying my team is gonna beat the snot outa yours can cause a good bit of digestion from crow feathers. Why not just wait and see?
And for Aaron’s play at QB for me is most impressive. I’ve not seen him make the wrong turn for any hand off in the backfield. He is very smooth with his handling of the ball, and his passes are just and smooth and on target as I’ve seen at Georgia. No, I’m not saying he the best, far from it. That will be discussed years from now, but for now the fellow is getting it done. If the offensive line gets their job done, this year will be a phenomenal year. Everything else is as good as I’ve seen it, and that’s over the last 42 years for me. Sorry, I’m from Alabama but I was raised an Ole Miss fan.
Back when they still had the flag, among other things I cared for. But I’m a Ga boy now. Go Dawgs.
Tom Dawg 1
September 26th, 2012
6:32 pm
Hey I want the Dawg’s to win every thing. Be 12 and 0 then win the SEC. Then the NC, but the team I want to smash every year is those Yellar Pissants from Atlanta. If we beat them 60 to 0, I want the final score to be 90 to 0. I don’t like orange but I hate Yellar. My favorite colors is Red and Black.
I think Bobo has opened up the playbook a little more this year. Offense wins games, defense wins championships. I look for Rambo to have a great game Saturday, he should be hungry for an interception or 2.
Kenny Powers
September 26th, 2012
10:31 pm
Murray is nerdy, but he’s also like Eddie Haskell…always polite and respectful, reminds one of a choir boy, he is around things that may be problem, but somehow ol’ Eddie wiggles his way out of trouble…people just think he’s squeaky clean…yep, most thinks he’s like Wally, but he’s Eddie
MJ
September 27th, 2012
7:58 am
Seems to be 1 person, using dozens of fake names, saying “Murray so good so far, but he hasn’t beat a ranked team yet”……
SEC Power Rankings: The Dark [Insert Name] Rises - Inside Mississippi State Sports with Brad Locke
September 27th, 2012
10:24 pm
[...] 3. Georgia (3): So, are key defensive players Bacarri Rambo and Alec Ogletree really back this week? How much will they be needed against Tennessee’s explosive offense? More important, is QB Aaron Murray a stud or just a football nerd? [...]