Texas A&M Football: Murray Picks Aggies, but Will He Make It to College Station?

Texas A&M's coaches and fans were finally able to breathe a collective sigh of relief on national signing day, as 5-star dual-threat quarterback Kyler Murray signed his letter of intent to become an Aggie, per KHOU.com.

A few weeks ago, there wasn't much question that Murray would one day wear maroon. His father, Kevin, played quarterback at Texas A&M in the 1980s, and Kyler committed to A&M back on May 28, 2014.  

However, there was plenty of speculation as February 4 approached.  He flirted with the Oregon Ducks—head coach Mark Helfrich made an in-home visit last week according to ESPN—as well as the Texas Longhorns.  

Texas might have been the closest to swaying the highly touted quarterback. Murray visited Austin on January 21, and he even tweeted a picture of a UT jersey that made Aggie fans nervous. However, Gerry Hamilton of ESPN.com reported last Friday that Murray would stick with his initial choice of Texas A&M.

While signing the Gatorade Player of the Year who went 43-0 as a starter at Allen High School is a monumental move, there is still one more obstacle for the Aggies to overcome if they want Murray to rack up yards in Kevin Sumlin's spread offense.  

It's not another school. It's not even the same sport. It's the MLB draft.

Murray has made it clear that he will play both football and baseball in college, but he may focus solely on baseball if he gets drafted high enough. And there is a chance he could be picked as high as the first round.  

MLB.com draft analyst Jim Callis told USA Today of Murray's outstanding potential on the diamond.

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He has a chance to go in the first round this spring.  He's the X-Factor of this year's draft. He can really run, put the bat on the ball, but there's still some mystery about him. I don't think he's played as much shortstop for his high school team, and scouts haven't figured out why that is. Usually the best athlete with the best arm plays shortstop. But that won't matter if he has a great spring and shows he can play shortstop and shows a willingness to sign. He could be a first round pick.

He could be the best athlete in the draft overall. I think he's on the short list right now. He's a guy who people definitely want to see because of the speed and because his bat looks real promising. 

"

That's some very high praise, and if scouts feel the same way, Murray will have a very difficult decision to make when the MLB draft rolls around in June. Should he choose professional baseball, he would be the second Aggie quarterback commit to choose that route in the past two years.

Mike Janes/Baseball America

Kohl Stewart was a 4-star pocket passer in the class of 2013 when he was drafted fourth overall by Minnesota. Now he is in the Twins' farm system after agreeing to a $4.55 million signing bonus.

But Murray is even more highly regarded in both sports than Stewart was. Murray is the only player in history to play in the Under Armour All-America Game for both baseball and football.  

Bleacher Report's Ben Kercheval recently wrote a tremendous article saying that it would be a prudent decision for Murray to opt for baseball instead of Texas A&M. Kercheval cited the financial benefits of baseball as well as injury concerns, among other things.

Murray's uncle, Calvin, played professional baseball with the San Francisco Giants, so he definitely has some roots in baseball as well as football.  

This decision will be one of the most anticipated in recent memory. Sumlin is hoping like crazy that Murray makes it to College Station, but there is a good chance the money will be too lucrative to pass up.