Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray declared on Monday that he is “firmly and fully committing my life and time to becoming an NFL quarterback” as opposed to pursuing a professional baseball career with the Oakland A’s.
That decision will make Murray a closely watched prospect over the next few months as teams determine whether they believe he’s worth a first-round pick in April. One of the concerns that some teams will have is about Murray’s height.
Oklahoma’s football team listed Murray at 5'10" and, as the team name would lead you to believe, that’s reportedly shorter than the Giants would like. Ralph Vacchiano of SNY reports, via a team source, that Murray is “probably a little too small” to interest the team and references a quote from Giants head coach Pat Shurmur from last April.
“I fancy guys that are tall. ... You’re trying to find sightlines,” Shurmur said. “It’s no different for a quarterback when he is behind a very tall offensive line. All else being equal, as long as all the skill sets are equal or maybe even a little better than equal, guys that can see have a chance to be very good.”
That wasn’t in reference to Murray or any other specific player and there’s a lot of workouts, interviews and other business to conduct before anyone makes any picks in Nashville. If height remains a big issue for the Giants, though, Murray will be heading elsewhere to begin his NFL career.