Murray knew all along

Once the clock hit zeros in the Georgia Dome on December 1st, quarterback Aaron Murray knew he'd be back for his last year of eligibility. But as he has become a better quarterback during his time as a Bulldog, he's also become a mature young man. So he also knew he'd better make sure it wasn't just raw emotion he was reacting to.

“I obviously didn’t want to base my decision off emotion. I really wanted to let that SEC game go by a little bit before I really made my decision. After that game, I’m like `I’m coming back, I’m coming back.’ I really needed to let that game go, play another game and great to get a win, clear my head, write down the pros and cons of everything, of staying and leaving, talk to my parents, talk to some other people who I know have my best interest at hand, but at the end of the day, I still felt deep down inside that I needed to come back for another year.”

As we talked about earlier, Murray is very competitive. There's a fire inside that drives him and that is what compelled him to return to Athens; at this point in his life he'd rather compete for an SEC championship than for a spot on a roster. And in the end he might be better off for it, both in terms of collegiate hardware and his NFL career. Georgia returns practically every starter on offense, and has a talented albeit inexperienced defense. That could add up to a lot of good opportunities in 2013 for the team that the fifth year senior will lead.

As for the NFL, some are saying that going into next season Murray will be the top prospect at quarterback for the 2014 draft. He might not be any taller then than he is now, but if he gets to stand on a podium (or two) everyone will be looking up to him anyway.