DeMarco Murray was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in large part thanks to a hearty endorsement from former Cowboys and Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer.
Murray, 27, was drafted by the Cowboys in the third round in 2011. 70 players had already been drafted by the time Dallas selected him, so it’s not exactly like there was a huge demand for him. But Switzer knew how good he was and repeatedly shared that message with Jerry Jones leading up to the draft. He also campaigned for Murray on draft night at the behest of Jones.
SI’s Austin Murphy wrote an excellent piece about Murray and shared this great anecdote:
“So I’m watching the draft that year, the third round’s coming up, and my phone rings,” Switzer recalls. “It’s Jerry, in the war room. He says, ‘Barry, tell these guys what you told me.’” Switzer obliged thusly: “You all are the luckiest sons of bitches in the world because this kid is a first-round talent falling into your lap, and if you don’t take him, you’re as crazy as that time you didn’t take Randy Moss.”
That, apparently, was all the Cowboys needed to hear about Murray. They drafted the former Oklahoma Sooner anyd have been rewarded by back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons from the league’s 2014 leading rusher. Now it’s a matter of whether they will pay to bring Murray back next season, and from the sounds of things, he is willing to give them a hometown discount.
There were a few other great nuggets from Murphy’s article: Murray sported a Rick James look in high school; Pete Carroll wanted to recruit him as a cornerback; and to get the attention of Oklahoma’s coaches while in high school, Murray threw down a crazy dunk.
