Kyler Murray: 'I've Always Thought I Could Play in the NFL'

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Kyler Murray may never play another football game after Saturday's College Football Playoff semifinal against the Alabama Crimson Tide, but he believes he is fully capable of playing in the NFL. 

According to ESPN.com's Alex Scarborough, Murray feels he could succeed at football's highest level if he decided to go that route:

"Obviously it wasn't in the air, but I've always felt I could play in the NFL. I'm a confident guy. There's not a lot of short quarterbacks in the league, but I think there's more guys paving the way for the transition of not really caring about how big you are, how tall you are. I've played this game my whole life and I've always felt I could do it."

Murray signed a $4.66 million contract with the Oakland Athletics after they selected him with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2018 MLB draft.

As part of that contract, Murray was allowed to play quarterback at Oklahoma for one season before joining the A's organization in 2019.

While Murray hasn't indicated that he doesn't plan to honor his contract with the Athletics, he noted that it's "never bad to have options."

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner also made it clear that his focus is currently on the Orange Bowl against Alabama for a chance for play for the College Football Playoff National Championship.

There has been speculation regarding Murray potentially playing both baseball and football professionally, but according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, Murray's contract with the A's would require him to repay most or all of his signing bonus if he plays in the NFL.

Murray's agent, Scott Boras, recently told ESPN.com's Joel Anderson and Jake Trotter that Murray will honor his contract with the Athletics: "In good faith that organization did something very unique. Never done before. So, [Murray] is going to reward the Oakland A's and their owners, fans, by executing the agreement to its truest intent and now continue his baseball career."

At the time, Murray said giving up football to play for the A's was the plan "as of now," but no firm commitment has been made.

Murray would be giving up a large chunk of change if he decides to continue pursuing football, but it would be difficult to argue with that decision given the fact that he could be a first-round pick in the NFL draft.

The 2019 quarterback class looks weak on paper, and Murray is in the midst of a season that has seen him throw for 4,053 yards, 40 touchdowns and seven interceptions while rushing for 892 yards and 11 scores.

There may be no easy answer for Murray, but whether he decides to play baseball or football at the next level, it seems likely that there is plenty of money to be made and he'll have every opportunity to succeed as well.