Kyler Murray

High school football

Murray was born in Bedford, Texas. He attended Allen High School in Allen. As a senior in 2014, he was the Gatorade Football Player of the Year and became the first player to be named Mr. Texas Football twice. His team won three straight state championships and 43 games in a row. He missed one start during this streak and finished his career with a perfect 42–0 record as a starting quarterback.

Murray was ranked by ESPN, Scout.com, and 247Sports as a five-star recruit and the best dual-threat quarterback in his class. In May 2014, he committed to Texas A&M University to play college football and college baseball. He officially signed with them on February 4, 2015.

High school baseball

Murray also played baseball and was considered one of the top prospects for the 2015 Major League Baseball draft. In high school, Murray was a shortstop and a second baseman. He was the first player to ever be selected for both the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game and Under Armour All-America Football Game.

Texas A&M

As a true freshman in 2015, Murray competed with Kyle Allen before the season for the starting quarterback position. Allen won the job, with Murray appearing in games as a backup (primarily on plays involving the wildcat formation). After the team lost two straight games in October, the competition was opened again prior to the South Carolina game, and Murray won the starting quarterback position. In his first start, Murray threw for 223 yards and rushed for 156 yards with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown, making him and Cam Newton the only Southeastern Conference quarterbacks in the past 20 years to gain over 100 yards passing and rushing, including a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown in their first career start. In his second start the next game against Auburn, Murray threw for 105 yards while throwing three interceptions, and rushing for 37 yards in the 26–10 loss. He rebounded from his previous game the next week against Western Carolina, throwing for 191 yards, 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, while rushing for 50 yards in the 41–17 blowout win. After the game, Allen was named the starting quarterback and Murray was sidelined for the rest of the season.

Oklahoma

On December 24, 2015, Murray announced that he was transferring to the University of Oklahoma. Per NCAA transfer rules, he missed the entire 2016 season.

2017

In the 2017 season, Murray was a backup quarterback to Baker Mayfield. He got the opportunity to play in some games in relief of Mayfield. He made his season debut in the season opener against UTEP. In the 56–7 victory, he came into the game in the second half and finished 10-of-11 for 149 yards and a touchdown. Two weeks later, against Tulane, he hit all three pass attempts for 103 yards and a touchdown. On November 25, against West Virginia, he started the game after Mayfield had to sit out some of the game due to disciplinary actions in the previous game against the Kansas Jayhawks. In the game, he hit both pass attempts for 52 total yards and a touchdown while contributing 80 rushing yards on three carries.

2018

With Mayfield heading to the NFL, Oklahoma considered Murray and Austin Kendall to start at quarterback in 2018. Murray was chosen as the starting quarterback. He threw for more than 4,000 yards and 42 touchdowns in the 2018 regular season, and rushed for over 1,000 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. In December 2018, Murray won the Heisman Trophy as the best collegiate football player in the country, giving Oklahoma back-to-back Heisman winners. Murray helped lead Oklahoma to a Big 12 Championship win and an appearance in the College Football Playoff. In the 2018 Orange Bowl against Alabama, he threw for 308 passing yards and had two passing touchdowns as the Sooners lost by a score of 45–34. Murray became only the third Heisman Trophy winner to not be awarded consensus All-American honors.

College baseball

Murray opted out of the MLB draft after deciding to attend Texas A&M. He was initially set to play as an infielder for the Texas A&M Aggies baseball team in the 2016 season until he announced his departure from Texas A&M on December 17, 2015.

Murray played for the Oklahoma Sooners baseball team in 2017 as a left fielder. He had a.122 batting average and six runs batted in (RBIs) in 27 games. After the 2017 season, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League. In 2018, playing as a centerfielder, Murray batted.296 with 10 home runs, 47 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases.

Despite Murray's reported intention to continue his football career, the Oakland Athletics selected Murray with the ninth overall selection of the 2018 MLB draft. He signed a contract with the Athletics which included a $4.66 million signing bonus. Prior to his junior year with the football team, Murray said that he would report to spring training in 2019 to begin his professional baseball career. However, following his Heisman Trophy-winning 2018 season, he would forgo his senior year and enter the NFL draft. The A's retain his rights, should he return to baseball.

Personal life

Murray's maternal grandmother is a South Korean national.

Murray is a Christian. Murray's father, Kevin Murray, was a quarterback at Texas A&M from 1983 to 1986. His uncle, University of Texas alumnus Calvin Murray, was a professional baseball player for the San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, and Chicago Cubs. His cousin, Devin Duvernay, is a University of Texas alumnus and is a wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals.

Despite being a Texas native, Murray grew up a Minnesota Vikings fan, and avoided supporting the Dallas Cowboys, stating "They were always ass".

Murray is an avid chess player, and he has said it has helped him become a better football player. As a child, he won school tournaments. Murray is a three-time participant in the Chess.com BlitzChamps chess tournaments and has appeared in the grand final match of the event twice. Murray lost in the grand final match both times to Justin Reid.

Murray is also an avid video-gamer and in April 2021, he signed with FaZe Clan. In October 2024, Murray announced that he was partnering with Call of Duty to promote the franchise’s latest installment Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.