By John Shinn
A couple weeks ago, Oklahoma running back DeMarco Murray said he would return for his junior season. Wednesday, he struck a different tone. He admitted he has not made a final decision.
"I have to take the opportunity to at least think about it, and not put a stamp on it and say I'm coming back next year," Murray said. "I haven't made any decisions yet. I'm still thinking about it. It's been in my mind every day. I just have to make the best decision for myself and if I do come back it has to be for the right reasons and to help this team win a national championship.
"With the position I'm in, I at least need to think about it and see where it goes after the bowl game."
Murray is one of many Sooner underclassmen who have submitted paperwork to NFL to receive a draft grade. The grade helps them get an idea where they might be picked. The grades are by no means binding.
Underclassmen who have been out of high school at least three years have until Jan. 15 to make themselves eligible for the draft. Currently, the only OU player with eligibility remaining to officially declare is injured quarterback Sam Bradford. Junior defensive tackle Gerald McCoy also is expected to forgo his senior season, but hasn't made an official announcement.
Those two are pegged as likely top 10 picks.
Where Murray fits in the draft isn't certain. He's scored 44 career touchdowns over the last three seasons. But OU's Dec. 31 meeting with Stanford in the Sun Bowl will mark the first time he's been healthy at the end of the season.
Murray said he's gotten advice from Bradford, tight end Jermaine Gresham and tackle Trent Williams.
Those three all returned for this season. Bradford and Gresham suffered season-ending injuries, but are still expected to be first-round picks. Williams, who was a consensus All-American this season, certainly elevated his stock.
"They just told me to make the best decision for myself. If I do come back, it has to right and 100 percent what I want to do. If I decide to leave, I have to be 100 percent ready to go to the next level. They haven't tried to steer me one way or the other."
Goal reached
Williams, who was the only OU player named to the Associated Press's first-team All-American squad Tuesday, said being named an All-American was a goal he set when he first arrived at college.
"It makes me feel really good. Being an All-American is a great honor," he said Wednesday.
It was the third All-American team Williams has been named to this season. The American Football Coaches Association and Walter Camp Football Foundation also selected Williams.
Spanish lessons
Those spanish classes OU players either took in high school or college figure to come in handy for the Sun Bowl. El Paso, Texas, is located on the U.S.-Mexico border.
"I took two years of Spanish in high school, so I think I'll be all right," said Murray, who is from Las Vegas.
Cornerback Brian Jackson said he had three years of Spanish classes counting high school and college. He said the Spanish-to-English dictionary he keeps at home will be making the trip as well.
"I can understand it (Spanish), but I can't speak it fluently," he said.
Jackson is the only player thus far to express any concerns over playing in El Paso. The Texas city is located just to the north of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Earlier this year the state department issued a travel alert for that part of Mexico due to a raging war between rival drug cartels.
Mexican authorities report that more than 1,000 people have been killed in Ciudad Juarez in the first six months of 2009. Additionally, this city of 1.6 million people experienced more than 17,000 car thefts and 1,650 carjackings in 2008.
"They should have moved the bowl game. You have to think about our well being first, don't you?" Jackson said with a pretty big laugh.
Of course, all that is happening in Mexico. El Paso was ranked this year as the second safest city in America with a population over 500,000 by CQ Press.
Murray didn't have any concerns about it.
"I think we'll be fine," he said.
Owens will transfer
Sophomore wide receiver Jameel Owens has obtained his release from OU and intends to transfer to Tulsa.
"I've got to do what's right for me. It wasn't working out like it should here for me, and with my mom having health issues too, this was the move I needed to make," Owens told the Muskogee Phoenix.
Owens, who is from Muskogee, played in nine games and made four catches in 2007. He didn't play in any games this season. He'll have to sit out the 2010 season due to NCAA transfer rules. Owens should have two years of eligibility remaining after that.
John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com
