ADVERTISEMENT

Demarco...

Senior Sooner

Sooner starter
Dec 1, 2003
5,236
7,141
113
  1. Riley drops emoji bombshell on DeMarco Murray in intro presser :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
ByJOEY HELMER 12 hours ago4

NORMAN, Okla. — DeMarco Murray didn’t know Lincoln Riley knew about his eyeball emoji text to Cale Gundy, he didn’t know Gundy was with Riley on a recruiting trip when he sent it, and he certainly didn’t know he’d get an interview and eventually get the job.

Turns out it all happened mostly in that order. What Murray did know, at least until his introductory press conference Wednesday afternoon inside the MidFirst Bank Stadium Club, is he sent a text to his former position coach before a dream turned into a reality.

“Actually DeMarco doesn’t know that I know this, but after word broke that we were going to be looking for a new running backs coach, I was actually in Dallas recruiting with Coach Gundy and he showed me his phone and DeMarco sent him a text with the eyeballs,” Riley said, with a grin at the podium. “So that was a good recruit for us…Those have been pretty good around here.”

Making in a difference in the lives of homeless vetsVeteran Smiles started as a small effort in a Georgia VA and now delivers thousands of care kits to veterans around the country.
Unless you’ve been living in some kind of cave—and perhaps you still found out about it somehow anyway—Riley tweets a set of eyeballs every time he secures a recruit. So it’s a bit ironic Murray sort of called his shot on this one.

“We’ve always stayed in contact, and I didn’t know the job was open,” Murray said. “I guess when it did open I just got a bunch of text messages from teammates and coaches that [it was]. I was like, ‘Holy cow,’ and then I just sent him that emoji jokingly. And I didn’t know he showed Lincoln that. Now in about 10 minutes when I’m done I’m going to go have a talk with him.”

Surely, if the two did have the conversation afterwards, it was a lighthearted one with a bunch of chuckles.

“Having the opportunity when the running back job opened up here, I sent the emoji eyes to Gundy, and then I just felt that I just wanted to interview and I didn’t call anyone, ask anyone to do this or do that,” Murray said. “Obviously, it’s Coach Lincoln’s decision, and I didn’t want to influence him in any way or make a call. So, you know, I’ve always had it in my mind to be a coach. I just didn’t know the timing aspect of it.”

It’s been a quick year-plus. Murray worked on TV broadcasts, then in his initial season coaching under Kevin Sumlin at Arizona. Now he’s back at his alma mater as one of the two newest members of Riley’s staff.

“It was definitely a dream of mine to obviously end up back here and be at this prestigious program and the place where it started for me and I considered home, even though I’m from Las Vegas,” Murray said. “But this was a place that helped jumpstart me professionally and on and off the field. So just the people in this organization and having a chance to come back here and obviously learn and help compete for a lot of championships, I was very privileged to have that opportunity.”
With it, he’ll now be able to send out some more emojis, too.
 
ADVERTISEMENT