QB Aaron Murray explains his decision to remain at Georgia
ATHENS – Aaron Murray said he knew he wanted to return to Georgia for his senior season “as soon as the clock hit zero” in the SEC Championship game. The rest of the time he spent validating in his head what was already in his heart.
Murray announced via Twitter this past Sunday night that he was indeed going to complete his eligibility with the Bulldogs. On Tuesday he met with reporters at UGA’s Butts-Mehre football complex to explain his decision.
Aaron Murray hoist the MVP trophy after his four-touchdown passing performance in the Capital One Bowl on New Year's Day. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
“I pretty much knew all along deep down inside that I wanted to come back,” Murray said. Obviously I didn’t want to base my decision on emotion. I wanted that SEC game to go by a little bit before I made my decision. After that game, I was like, ‘I’m coming back, I’m coming back.’ So I really needed to let that game go, play another game, clear my head and write down the pros and cons of everything.”
Murray, the first quarterback to throw for more than 3,000 yards in three consecutive seasons, is on track to break SEC records for passing yards, touchdowns and completions. But he said that had little to do with his decision.
The opportunity to return to Georgia and win an SEC championship next season was the strongest incentive.
“I’m excited about our team next year,” he said. “We’ve grown so much over these past two seasons and really put Georgia back on the map. It’s great to be part of that and hopefully we’ll continue to get better. . . . I love Georgia, I love being part of this university, I love being part of this team. I’m just excited to have another year.”
The Bulldogs return 10 starters on offense next season, including the entire offensive line. They will be rebuilding on defense, however.
Murray said previously he received a “second- or third-round grade” from the NFL’s draft advisory board. He said he discussed his situation with former NFL coach Tony Dungy, former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, former UGA quarterbacks David Greene and D.J. Shockley, among others.
“I liked what my grade was,” Murray said. “But obviously I feel like I’ve still got a lot of improvement to make as a quarterback. I’ve got some areas that I need to continue to develop. I’ve talked to Coach (Mike) Bobo and Coach (Mark) Richt about it, too, and they’re really excited about me coming back and continuing to improve. . . . By the end of the year, I will be as complete a quarterback as I can be heading into the NFL.”
Of course, not everybody is thrilled with Murray’s decision. Junior Hutson Mason, Murray’s backup before redshirting this past season, was quoted in the Marietta Daily Journal as saying he was “frustrated” about having to sit behind Murray another year. Reached by the AJC Tuesday, Mason was decidedly more diplomatic.
“It hasn’t worked out the way I planned,” he said, “but I’m not giving up on my dreams.”
Asked if he was definitely going to be back at Georgia next season, Mason said, “That’s the plan as of right now.”
Meanwhile, Murray spoke of several areas in which he’d like to improve as a senior. Most notably, becoming more of a dual-threat quarterback.
“I think when I got here I tried to stress so much about being a pocket passer, staying in the pocket and making my reads and my progressions,” Murray said. “There’s nothing wrong with that; I still have to work on that and trust my line. I just need to work more on when things do break down or maybe see ahead of time plays I can take off on and get out of the pocket and get as many yards as I can get. Work on my speed a little more. I feel like at my age I’ve gotten a little slower. I’ve got to work on that more and just try to create plays when they aren’t there.”
Asked specifically what he could do to improve his NFL stock, Murray joked, “Hopefully somehow I can grow another two inches, that’d be great. I think we’re incorporating some yoga this offseason, so some stretching may help out a little bit.”
Murray is listed at 6-foot-1 and swears it’s legitimate.
Turning serious, he added: “I’m not worried about where I get drafted next season. I think you can play a dangerous game if you think about that. My No. 1 goal right now is to continue to get better as a quarterback and do whatever I can to make sure this team gets some championships, gets some rings next year.”
Murray’s desire to win a championship at Georgia was driven home as he watched Alabama throttle Notre Dame 42-14 Monday night to claim its third national championship in four years. The Bulldogs lost to Alabama 32-28 after time expired with Georgia on the 5-yard line.
“Oh, it was painful to watch. It was,” Murray said. “I’m happy the SEC won, of course. It definitely showed the nation how good we were, to play Alabama the way we did and were four or five yards away from being in that game. It helped us showed that Georgia is back.”
And now Murray is, too.
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341 comments Add your comment
Buckeye
January 9th, 2013
11:15 am
gary,
Ring me up when you beat USC, FL and LSU and/or Alabama in the same year.
Buckeye
January 9th, 2013
11:20 am
For gary and all glass house dogs:
A blast from the recent dog past:
Enjoy!
http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/2012/03/29/roster-attrition-occurring-at-alarming-rate-for-georgia-football/
Rampdawg
January 9th, 2013
11:24 am
Buckeye
January 9th, 2013
11:15 am
gary,
Ring me up when you beat USC, FL and LSU and/or Alabama in the same year.
——————————————————————————————————-
Ring us up when you beat an SEC team. I would give you the Arkansas win, but you JUST had to have that TATTOO .HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
steve
January 9th, 2013
11:31 am
He has been a good QB and he seems like a good kid. He has already graduated and is working on his Masters. He seems like the kind of young man the University of Georgia would be proud to have back. I don’t understand why anyone is bashing him or his decision. Besides, he has put up some impressive numbers in his first 3 years and he is only going to get better.
Buckeye
January 9th, 2013
11:35 am
rampdog,
Ring me when your BCS record exceeds Ohio State’s record.
hahahahahaha
Buckeye
January 9th, 2013
11:36 am
rampdog,
Ring me up when the jury returns on Isaiah’s, I coined Dream Team for the dogs, felony weapon charges.
Rampdawg
January 9th, 2013
11:54 am
rampdog,
Ring me up when the jury returns on Isaiah’s, I coined Dream Team for the dogs, felony weapon charges.
——————————————————–
Why should I? He plays for U of So.Alabama. We kick our bad apples out. You keep yours and let ‘em drag you down probation road. Tatts to ya. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Buckeye
January 9th, 2013
11:55 am
rampdog,
Are you a damn good dog?
Careful.
Spinoza
January 9th, 2013
12:07 pm
Of course his decision had nothing to do with being a student in a university with the goal of completing a degree.
Spinoza
January 9th, 2013
12:08 pm
Steve says he has finished his degree. I just hope it wasn’t in PE or basket weaving.
Rampdawg
January 9th, 2013
12:20 pm
Buckeye
January 9th, 2013
11:35 am
rampdog,
Ring me when your BCS record exceeds Ohio State’s record.
hahahahahaha
————————————————————————————————————-
RINNNGGGGGGGGG
Your 5-3 for a .825 win%
We’re 2-1 for a .667 win%
To bad you had tattoo gate. Way to bad you had to play them SEC teams in the championship games
But then, you are in the BIG whatever
UGA vs. BIG 9-3 one loss to a BIG team in the last 55 yrs. Keep ‘em coming to play Buckeye, we like cannon fodder
WHHHHHYYYYYYY??????
January 9th, 2013
12:20 pm
I dreaded this guy coming back! UGA talks as if the BCS Tiltle Game will be at their door step next season…”NOT”. Kool Cat said it all! Murray a 10yo pee-wee football player would have spiked the football in that situation you were in against BAMA. You’ve got to face some serious teams next season! LSU, CLEMSON and that’s just the tip off the iceberg! FLORIDA will be much better and SPURRIER and CLOWNEY cant wait. The WR corps won’t be as strong and BAMA will beat any 3-4 defense including DALLAS! However, that TODD GURLEY IS THE REAL DEAL!!!
Joey
January 9th, 2013
12:20 pm
Buckeye. On every UGA blog. Posting more than any UGA fan. Always hurling insults. Never discusses football, just makes an ass of himself.
Maybe we should grant Buckeye, Special Nerd Status.
Because, he is damn sure as anoying as any techie – even SMART and GTBob.
Rampdawg
January 9th, 2013
12:22 pm
:correction
Buckeye
January 9th, 2013
11:35 am
rampdog,
Ring me when your BCS record exceeds Ohio State’s record.
hahahahahaha
————————————————————————————————————-
RINNNGGGGGGGGG
Your 5-3 for a .625 win%
We’re 2-1 for a .667 win%
To bad you had tattoo gate. Way to bad you had to play them SEC teams in the championship games
But then, you are in the BIG whatever
UGA vs. BIG 9-3 one loss to a BIG team in the last 55 yrs. Keep ‘em coming to play Buckeye, we like cannon fodder
Rampdawg
January 9th, 2013
12:35 pm
@WHHHHHYYYYYYY??????
You think that UF will be stronger? They’re losing a bunch off the Dee to the NFL. and that was the only good thing UF had. They get QB Driscol back, he absolutely stinks. The BUQB Brisett is transfering
LSU is losing even more to the NFL
Clemson, they beat LSU by one, we’ll see
USCe our toughest game, but we get them at home
Our WR corp won’t be as strong? Son you need to stay off the dope. It is the strongest corp on the team.
WDE
January 9th, 2013
12:37 pm
WHHHHHYYYYYYY?????? Are you such a moron??????
ghost
January 9th, 2013
12:39 pm
Buckeye, 491 total yards and 49 points to Indiana (4-8) is the definition of not good. The most points Indiana scored all season was vs mighty ohio defense. How many wins did ohio state have to vacate? when was the last ohio state victory over any SEC program that wasn’t vacated?
Discount DoubleDawg
January 9th, 2013
12:39 pm
Don’t pay any attention to buckeye. He was exposed yesterday as a fraud. He makes contradicting arguments and is emotionally charged with no substance and he offers zero value. Gtbob is worth having a discussion with but not this clown
Joey
January 9th, 2013
12:46 pm
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1444990-maurice-clarett-former-ohio-state-star-talks-about-being-paid-while-in-college
Uh oh – trouble in Buckeye’s paradise
GimmeAbreak
January 9th, 2013
12:51 pm
Hop… You said UGA will be “lacking in inexperience and youth”. If you are lacking in inexperience YOU ARE EXPERIENCED and if you are lacking in youth YOU ARE MATURE!
I was taught that it is better to remain silent and let others think you are uninformed that to open your mouth and remove any doubt!
Notre Dame is overated
January 9th, 2013
1:01 pm
So is the SEC.
Alabama’s Signature Win is over LSU and LSU loses to an ACC school in their bowl game.
Georgia’s Signature Win is over Florida and UF loses to a Big East school in their bowl game.
Florida’s only loss came to UGA, but Florida gave that game to UGA by giving the Bulldogs SIX TURNOVERS. Louisville totally stomped Florida and did not need any turnover help.
Likewise LSU got stomped by Clemson. Clemson put up 445 yards on LSU which is more than Double the yards LSU had. No one else in the SEC even came close to dominating the yardage game like this on LSU.
What did UGA and BAMA have in common…. they both were smiled upon by the scheduling Gods and did not have to play any of the top 3 teams on the other side of the division.
Texas A&M is actually the best team in the SEC, but because their schedule was much tougher than BAMA or UGA’s, they did not get to go the the SECCG.
Having 14 teams in the SEC naturally allows more room for better teams to beat up on the cupcakes. Hey UGA Fans…look at this …..
UGA played ONLY 1 Top Ten Team in the Regular Season
Missouri played 5 Top Ten Teams in the Regular Season
The biggest lack of parity in the SEC is the scheduling and UGA has been blessed with the easiest schedule in the SEC the last 2 years.
Notre Dame was overated because the squeeked by many teams this year and you are not going to win a BCS Championship game with a RS Freshman QB.
HunkerDown
January 9th, 2013
1:02 pm
Buckeye… No fan of the B1G has any business being on here talking trash! I think it’s safe to say that you are the worst conference in the entire country (YES, even the Big East and MAC passed you this year!)
Joey
January 9th, 2013
1:02 pm
If the techies (and honorary techie, Buckeye) really think UGA and Murray are gonna be so bad next season, they should be happy, in good cheer.
UGA will go 8-5 or 7-6 next year, in your opinions. Tough schedule, lousy QB, lousy D.
Why the nastiness, and hate?
Butteye
January 9th, 2013
1:04 pm
Rampdog you are losing the only thing that beat UF and that would be Jarvis. Most UF fans I know are thrilled that Prancing Erin Murray is cuming back.
HunkerDown
January 9th, 2013
1:05 pm
“Notre Dame is overrated”…
The SEC is overrated??? 7 NC’s and counting says different!
Rampdawg do you watch games?
January 9th, 2013
1:11 pm
You say LSU only lost by 1 to Clemson….. Did you watch that game?
The only reason it was close was due to Les Miles’ usual “Lucky State University”
Clemson held LSU to its lowest yardage output of the season and put up 230 MORE yards than LSU.
You are also lucky that the Gamecocks did not loose…. they had to pull that one out of their arse to win at the end.
This is the same Gamecocks team that totally embarrassed the bulldogs (even worse than Bama embarrassed the Golden Domers).
Between Clemson, LSU, USC, and UF…. the Dawg may be able to win 1…. very doubtful they win 2 of the 4. Better watch out for Vandy…..
WDE
January 9th, 2013
1:11 pm
Butteye glad you think that way….we will see you next year , have your bunch bring your helmets they are going to need them. Oh and love the name its soooo well you..
WDE
January 9th, 2013
1:16 pm
Rampdawg do you watch games? Really lets review we are bringing back our entire offense baring injury…I’m thinking playing Clemson and USC early is great news our offense should be clicking and well they will both be breaking in a number of key players on offense……….and we beat hell out of UF this year shut down the run game that completely blew up LSU so not sure how you can spout off about UF and LSU..but you have you reasons…UGA envy.
Matt
January 9th, 2013
1:22 pm
Notre Dame is overrated- your username is correct, they are way overrated. As is Mante Teo. The SEC is not judged by certain teams individual schedules on a given year. THey are judged by their recruiting classes, their bodies of work, number of players drafted, coaches, and championships. No other conference in the country can hold a candle to the SEC and it is said on every sports talk radio station, every show on ESPN, etc. Hell, Chris Fowler and Desmond Howard admitted on air that the NC was played in December in Atl.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion but every year the polls, sportswriters, analysts, and radio personalities all agree. The SEC is THE conference in college football.
What happens to the rest
January 9th, 2013
1:22 pm
Will B Sims get a shot or should he transfer? Phillip Ely will be next after AJ finishes in 2014.
14 Edward Aldag Quarterback FR 6-0/183 HS Birmingham, Ala. (Mountain Brook)
12 Phillip Ely Quarterback FR 6-1/198 RS Tampa, Fla. (Plant)
11 Alec Morris Quarterback FR 6-3/225 HS Allen, Texas (Allen)
19 Dustin Ellison Quarterback SO 6-0/180 SQ Monroeville, Ala. (Monroe Academy)
6 Blake Sims Quarterback SO 6-0/212 1L Gainesville, Ga. (Gainesville)
10 AJ McCarron Quarterback JR 6-4/210 2L Mobile, Ala. (St Paul’s Episcopal)
13 Ty Reed Quarterback JR 6-1/190 SQ Rocky Hill, Conn. (Rocky Hill)
Voice of reason
January 9th, 2013
1:23 pm
Rumour has it Murray is gone. Richt promised him the starting job next year prior to this season as the incentive for him to redshirt. Probably go D II and light it up then head to the pros.
Voice of reason
January 9th, 2013
1:24 pm
Correction Mason is gone.
Matt
January 9th, 2013
1:30 pm
Rampdawg do you watch games- USC whipped UGA…what is your point? UF was whipped by Louisville, do you honestly think Louisvile is a better team than UF? The same UF that played 4 or 5 top 10 teams this year beating them all but UGA.
Games can be won and won big if there is an explosive play early in the game. THe UGA defender missed a sure int to start the game against USC. How would that gave have been different if he makes that pick? How would the Louisville game have been different if UF doesn’t throw a pick 6 on the first play?
Momentum is hard to stop. A team that has and is firing on all cylinders is almost impossible to stop.
Look at the SF Giants and their 2 recent WS rings. They were not the best team in baseball those years, not even close. THe NY Giants were not the best team in the NFL either year that they won the Super Bowl. They got hot at the right time and were able to keep their momentum going.
Alphare
January 9th, 2013
1:31 pm
Let’s be honest, Murray is a 3rd rounder, and probably sit on the bench for 2-3 years in the NFL before retires.
His arm is not as good as Bray and Arkansas QB.
His “it” factor is pretty none compared to McCarron.
So I rank him the 4th best QB in the SEC, if it’s worth anything.
Matt
January 9th, 2013
1:31 pm
Voice of Reason- who cares? He’s the backup QB. Now give his reps to Lemay or Ramsey.
Here Here HunkerDown this is "Notre Dame is Overated"
January 9th, 2013
1:33 pm
Yea…. maybe the SEC should just get rid of the SEC-East… as the SEC-W has 5 of those. If it weren’t for UF, the SEC east would have 0. Bama is good and can beat anybody given more than a week to prepare….
How does an average Texas A&M come in from outside the SEC and dominate with a 3* recruit?
All I am saying is that a 1 loss SEC team will always be placed higher than a Non-SEC team due to perception…. so teams like Oregon get left out if they slip up.
TA&M or LSU and FL would have been in the SECCG if it weren’t for the scheduling that was mentioned earlier… but the refusal of the SEC to add more conference games despite having 14 members now is the reason the SEC benefits.
When you only play 2 out of 7 teams on the other side of the division…. it makes for cupcake city for many teams each year.
Alabama and UGA both enjoyed cupcake city in the SEC this year…. it was a Little Debbie Diet.
Did you notice that the SEC was favored to win every one of their bowl games?
Would have loved to see the SEC face some team with an offense (teams like Oregon, Stanford, etc…).
2 out of the top 4 SEC teams did face a team with an offense and both of them lost. Just a shame the Rose Bowl has its lock.
I guarantee you this…the SEC will not dominate the 4 team playoff.
Also Hunker Down… how many NC’s do the Bulldogs have of those 7? Seems like UGA is just living off the scraps from the SEC perception.
Alphare
January 9th, 2013
1:33 pm
As to the championship talk, let’s be real.
Defense wins championship, and UGA defense is a big question mark after losing tons of talents to the NFL.
So, be honest with yourselves, and put that talk aside for awhile before you can judge your D on the field.
WDE
January 9th, 2013
1:42 pm
Alphare I agree defense used to win championships..but our defense gave up 350 yards rushing and 31 points and we were within one play of beating the best team in the nation…all of us old dogs might want to rethink that classic line, times they are a-changing.
Tommy
January 9th, 2013
1:54 pm
Mason will transfer.
SEC , SEC
January 9th, 2013
1:54 pm
Notre dame is overrated,(GT fan trolling) , What an Idiot, seriously Florida “gave ” georgia 6 turnovers?
So the Georgia defense was just standing there and the Florida players handed them the ball? Clemson stomped LSU ? If winning by a point is stomping how would you describe South Carolinas beating Clemson 27-17 or Floridas win over FSU or 42-10?
No one else in the SEC even came close to dominating the yardage game like this on LSU. This comment exposes you as a tech fan,in the SEC its the points on the scoreboard that count Ole Miss scored more points (35) and had more yardage vs LSU than Clemson and Arkansas did the best Clemson imitation they had 463 yards of offense vs LSU but only scored 13 points.
Crawl back into the little smelly ACC-hole you came from
HutsonMasonAdvisor
January 9th, 2013
2:00 pm
Murray plays because Richt has promised him the position…hence his staying.
Leave Hutson. Youre screwed at UGA.
HutsonMasonAdvisor
January 9th, 2013
2:02 pm
Leave Hutson.
You are way too good, too talented…..even better than the guy in front of you.
College Life is short. Dont waste it on Richt’s bench.
AltamahaDawg
January 9th, 2013
2:04 pm
What’s with this all this feeling sorry for Mason. How is that even an issue? He is one player of 100. Beat out the man in front of you, and the debate is over. Since when does a back up QB deserve more of a “get his chance” than a back up LB, or a back up safety?
For a fan base that is always so uber sensitive about “loyalty” and “best man on the field”, some folks seem to have taken a 180 on this situation. As IF Hutson Mason is somehow deeded the role of starter at some point? That they “owe” it to him now, becasue he didn’t quit last year?
I doubt very seriously HE sees it that way. I’d say his comments are perfectly fine and understandable. He would be “disapointed” not to be a starter. Obviously. You would hope so. So far he has handled himself very admirably.
Reality Check for WDE
January 9th, 2013
2:08 pm
Defense does win Championships… that is what the SEC is known for. While I agree that we almost beat Alabama, it was because we got turnovers worth 17-24 points on the board and Alabama only got 3 points from us on turnovers.
Everyone is hung up on that one play, but remember, Saban made the same timeout mistake going into halftime …. do you honestly think that Alabama would not have been able to score from the 3 on 1st and goal.
Reality Check is we were lucky to be even close and BAMA would beat us 9 times out of 10 games played.
Only 2 teams in the SEC had offenses this year… UGA and the Aggies…. the rest won with Defense and when you look at our history of SEC success, it is Line Play and Defense.
Which brings us back to Alphare’s point…. our Defense gave up 300+ yards of RUSHING in 3 out of the last 4 games of the season (not counting 240 to Nebraska). For us to have so many NFL starters on the team this year… you have to think that was a bit of underachievement.
What would have happened if we were to have held Bama under 200 yards rushing…. our defense gave up more rushing yards to Bama than any other team on Bama’s schedule this year.
Defense wins championships and I have been less than impressed with Grantham.
Joey
January 9th, 2013
2:08 pm
Alphare, who’s talking “championship?”
If any real UGA fan does, it’s a fan who talks it every year, you know, somebody like Goldenrod, who predicts Tech beating UGA. Every year.
EVERY program has a few enthusiastic fans who let their mouths overload their asses.
It’s not uncommon – check Notre Dame blogs right now – they barely lost Monday night and they will definitly win next season.
Euphoria is not just limited to UGA football fans – hell I even remember a bunch of you boys on here 3 years ago, before the UGA game, pondering if your 10-1 Jackets would get in the Big Game.
WDE
January 9th, 2013
2:09 pm
AltamahaDawg great post…..seems to me the next icon for the “its not fair” crowd will be Boo Malcome..Marshal and Gurley are Bobo and Richt’s “pets” poor Boo getting shafted by the Man..
Roll Turd Roll
January 9th, 2013
2:10 pm
No question that the Aggies were the best SEC team this year…!!! But that is the way the “system” works….and nobody plays the “system” better than Alabama….How else could you be deemed “National Champion” when you fail to win the Western Division of your conference?
Here’s to hoping the new system is better despite the flaws already forseen….
WDE
January 9th, 2013
2:13 pm
Roll Turd Roll lets see if your going to say A&M is the best cause they be beat Bama then isn’t UF the best cause they beat A&M?
Joey
January 9th, 2013
2:16 pm
Sure, Hutson is gonna leave UGA, have to sit for a year, then start for “Team X.”
He knows UGA’s offense, and just like Shockley, just had bad timing, but will choose to not, “give up my dream.”
I also think he gets lots of play this season, so as to better get him ready for ‘14.
Joey
January 9th, 2013
2:21 pm
“No question that the Aggies were the best SEC team this year…!!!”
************************************************
Say what?
A&M had a great year, but also lost to two teams who lost Bowl Games to the ACC and Big East.
Come on, they caught Bama napping – if they had played a FOCUSED Bama team, like the one in the SECCG and BCSCG, they would have gotten waxed.