Oklahoma starting QB injured while playing for OU baseball team
Does the “sophomore slump” apply to coaching?
Last year, Oklahoma football coach Lincoln Riley had a dream season.
He replaced the legendary Bob Stoops and led the Sooners to the national championship semifinal game.
It was under Riley’s leadership that Baker Mayfield, who would go on to be the first overall pick in the NFL draft, won the Heisman Trophy.
Yet here we are in late May, and Riley may have a crisis on his hands already.
Presumptive starting quarterback Kyler Murray will have enough pressure trying to replace perhaps the greatest quarterback in school history. But for now, he’s just trying to get back on the field.
You see, Murray is also a top baseball prospect, and when he left Thursday’s baseball game in the first inning with an injury, Sooner Nation saw code red.
The game started off well enough for Murray.
M1 | #Sooners 1, Texas 0.
Kyler Murray puts OU in front. pic.twitter.com/jE0LqicOp7
— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) May 24, 2018
But when he attempted to steal second, he apparently hurt himself.
He was diagnosed with a strained hamstring, and the baseball team didn’t sound too worried.
“Kyler went in to slide in when he stole second and had a little twinge, but our team doctor said there wasn’t any bruising and there wasn’t a knot built up,” said head coach Skip Johnson, who then tried to allay the football faithful. “So it is probably really, really moderate, and we’ll go day-to-day. You never know until tomorrow, so we’ll take it day-to-day,” he added, per 247 Sports.
Riley and the football Sooners may already be holding their collective breath regarding their quarterback’s future, as Murray appears to be climbing the baseball prospect charts quickly.
ESPN’s Keith Law currently projects the center fielder as the 38th pick in next month’s MLB draft.
“If he’ll commit to baseball full time, there’s a potential above-average everyday center fielder for a team with some patience,” Law says.
Newsok.com describes Murray as a player with “world-class” speed, a tremendous arm (naturally) and good power.
M3 | Kyler Murray gets all of it for his 10th home run of the season.
OU 5, Kansas 0 pic.twitter.com/nUKEJcFLRF
— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) May 18, 2018
Everyone knows that the priority for Oklahoma sports is 1.) football, 2.) football and 3.) football, so it will be interesting to see when Murray gets back on the baseball diamond.
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