Kyle Allen Is Texas A&M's Best Option at QB, Not Kyler Murray
HOOVER, Ala. — The future of the quarterback position at Texas A&M wasn't at SEC media days this year, and neither was the present.
Incoming freshman Kyler Murray is out in Los Angeles at the ESPY Awards as the Gatorade National Player of the Year, but he was a big topic of conversation for head coach Kevin Sumlin as he made the rounds at the Hyatt Regency Wynfrey Hotel on Tuesday.
The battle between Murray—winner of three straight Texas titles at Allen High School and owner of an undefeated record as a starting quarterback in the Lone Star State—and incumbent Kyle Allen could be one of the biggest storylines of fall camp in the SEC.
Sumlin isn't shying away from playing both.
"I really haven’t done it before," Sumlin said, according to Kate Hairopoulos of the Dallas Morning News. "We’ll see. We’ve never started out that way. That doesn’t mean that we won’t."
Don't fall into the trap of thinking it's going to be much of a battle, though.
Once fall camp gets underway, it will become apparent quickly that Murray's primary role this year will be as a change-up quarterback with Allen serving as the unquestioned No. 1.
In his second season in Aggieland, Allen has benefited from an entire offseason as the man in charge of the offense.
"Players have confidence in him, and that's half the battle," Sumlin said. "We sat down this offseason and talked about him growing as a quarterback and learning more about the position, defenses, what we're trying to do and thinking like a coach. He continues to lead by organizing and getting all of the seven-on-seven work organized this summer."
Allen doesn't just have a head start in the race to become the Aggies' quarterback—he's on the final turn, while Murray hasn't even gotten out of the blocks.
Allen learned on the fly during the final month of the season and took significant steps between the end of the season and the bowl game.
In that Liberty Bowl against West Virginia, Allen passed for 294 yards and four touchdowns and added one more score on the ground. That's quite the ascent for Allen, who was beaten out by Kenny Hill for the starting job prior to last season.
"When I told him two weeks before the first game, he basically went around the corner and cried," Sumlin said. "To where he came to become MVP of the bowl game when six games ago he wasn't even playing, that says a lot. To go on the road to Auburn and then be the MVP, he's got a lot of confidence right now."
During spring practice, he was essentially the only quarterback on the roster, which will not only helped him nail down the starting spot this fall but helped him become a star.
He's familiar with the speed of the game, SEC defenses and what's expected of him as a starting quarterback in big-game atmospheres.
With apologizes to Texas high school football—which is awesome—Murray simply doesn't have that.
Quarterback battle? Quarterback rotation?
Please.
It's Allen's job to lose, and he's not going to lose it.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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