Kyle Allen Named Texas A&M's Starting QB over Kyler Murray
Kyler Murray did all he could to push Kyle Allen for Texas A&M's starting quarterback job. It just wasn't enough.
Head coach Kevin Sumlin announced (via the team's Twitter feed) Monday that Allen will get the nod when the Aggies open their season Sept. 5 against Arizona State.
Allen, a sophomore, threw for 1,322 yards and 16 touchdowns against seven touchdowns last season. He took over for Kenny Hill as the team's starter for the final five games, leading Texas A&M to a Liberty Bowl victory over West Virginia.
Murray, a true freshman who is the reigning Gatorade National Player of the Year, nearly won the job in camp after an intense battle. The Allen (Texas) High School product brings far more of a dual-threat aspect than Allen, who is more of a prototypical pocket passer. Texas A&M offensive coordinator Jake Spavital has even compared Murray to former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel.
“He’s a special player,” Spavital said, per Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle. “The thing that is pretty impressive with him is sometimes when he doesn’t know what’s going on exactly when you’re throwing a lot of new plays out there—he has a football savvy to him—he’ll drop back if the pocket collapses and he just turns and goes and makes something happen, very similar to how Johnny used to play (here).”
Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports doesn't expect Murray to wait long before seeing the field:
Despite the public praise for Murray, Allen's been the clubhouse leader throughout camp. He has taken a majority of the snaps during preseason workouts, has the most experience and is a highly touted prospect in his own right. When Allen committed to Texas A&M, he was considered the No. 1 pro-style quarterback in his class, per 247Sports.
To put it mildly, Sumlin had a good problem to solve. Both Murray and Allen would start for a majority of the programs across the nation. If Allen doesn't perform as expected, expect Sumlin to experiment with his young dual threat sooner rather than later.
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