'We can't waste a day': Inside the quiet evolution of DeMarco Murray's coaching rise, return to OU

In the midst of OU strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt’s grueling summer workouts in 2006, an embattled DeMarco Murray often trailed none other than legendary Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson. 

To those that knew him best, Murray was the only redshirt freshman who had the athleticism to keep up with Peterson, but he was also, more importantly, tasked with learning from the superstar running back. Through Peterson’s tutelage, Murray quickly bonded with the coaching staff and his teammates.

During drills one day, that leadership training demonstrated itself as Murray and wide receiver Adron Tennell almost got into a fight. Lagging behind the pack, each player laboring under weighted vests, Tennell was struggling to finish within the allotted time. 

If he missed it, OU's legendary strength and conditioning coach would make the entire group repeat the drill. 

“Get your stuff together or we're gonna do this over again,” Murray yelled at Tennell. 

“I was mad,” Tennell told the OU Daily. “We were really about to fight each other. It gave me a little little momentum, and I made it. Afterward, we didn't even think about that and didn't even worry about what happened in the locker room. We played some video games and suddenly just forgot about it.”

It was in such moments Murray displayed his ability to coach up players and lead with his voice, not only his talent. 

Murray, using his wealth of knowledge from his seven-year pro career and four seasons as OU’s running backs coach, is now leading Oklahoma’s backfield from the sideline and attempting to rejuvenate the Sooners from a 6-7 season in 2022.

#Sooners running backs coach DeMarco Murray on Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk: pic.twitter.com/TxZ5SVUuca

— OU Daily Sports (@OUDailySports) August 1, 2023

In four years, Eric Gray, Rhamondre Stevenson, and Kennedy Brooks have all landed in the NFL under Murray’s coaching. Gray, specifically, led OU’s backfield in 2022 — rushing for 1,366 yards and 11 touchdowns — before being drafted in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

As Oklahoma and coach Brent Venables transition to the SEC in 2024, a conference that produced the past two Heisman Trophy-winning running backs (Alabama’s Derrick Henry in 2015 and Mark Ingram in 2009), Murray knows the importance of a strong rushing core in title-contending teams. 

“For people who know football, that's where the game is won, that's where championships are won,” Murray told OU Daily. “More importantly, that's your identity. If you can run the football and you have a great group of guys that are physical, I've always believed running backs kind of set the tone for the game and set the tone for the team.”

This season, Murray expects a much improved backfield with sophomore running back Jovantae Barnes and redshirt freshman Gavin Sawchuk leading the helm, who each rushed over 100 yards in Oklahoma’s loss to Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl. 

Murray, nowadays, can be seen using the same vocality he once used against Tennell during practice. On Aug. 9, Murray — shuffling and kicking red step-over dummies into place with his feet — nonchalantly preached to his guys: "Deliver the blow. Deliver the f---ing blow, that's all I ask from you guys, please." 

The former Oklahoma running back wasn't always vocal, however. When he first arrived on campus as a four-star recruit, Murray largely kept to himself the first few months with the team.

“He came in real quiet and didn't talk to any of us,” former Oklahoma running back Mossis Madu told the OU Daily. “We were like, ‘Is this dude tryna Mr. Big Time Us or something?’ because he was some Mr. Big Shot in high school."

‘Reserved and quiet’ 

Inside a noisy gym at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Murray sat quietly with his father, Kevin, on the bleachers during a high school basketball game. 

Unbeknownst to Murray, then a high school freshman, the Gaels’ first-year head football coach David White was also in the building, and he was on the hunt for Murray, hoping to introduce himself. 

“He was just kind of to himself, reserved and quiet to be honest with you,” White told OU Daily of his first impression of Murray. “He had a look to him. He looked like a kid that had a little bit of some inner pride, that type of deal.” 

After building trust with Murray and the team, the Gaels decidedly lost their first game 7-0 in 2002. White decided to shake up the roster, and moved Murray from outside linebacker to running back, a position he’d never played. 

Initially, Murray and his father were hesitant, with no way of knowing White had — like a great running back — a vision for openings others might not initially see. The move ultimately put Murray into the position he’d play and coach the rest of his career. 

With the ball in his hands, the former linebacker finally exploded onto the scene, and displayed a loudness in his cuts, confidence and work ethic that couldn’t be found in his voice. 

“That next game he ran the ball,” White said, “he all of a sudden had an arrogance in his chest and now that confidence in who he thought he could be really started coming to life.”

You’ve seen Demarco Murray’s OU and NFL highlights. But have you seen his high school highlights? 😳😳😳 pic.twitter.com/0IIyz12p7Z

— The REF (@KREFsports) July 14, 2023

From that point Murray found his mojo and later earned DI commitments from top-notch programs like Oklahoma, USC and Miami. Murray’s once famous bounce-off-the-wall-and-off-the-backboard dunk eventually landed him in the radar of Bob Stoops, and the rest was history. 

“He's a joy to coach and a joy to be around team players,” Stoops told the OU Daily. “He’s just an all around great guy, and a great teammate to his buddies, very unselfish. You see all the times where he shared snaps and with Chris Brown, and he was the first guy hugging Chris Brown after a touchdown." 

After committing to the Sooners his senior year, Murray surprised Madu, who were both roommates and backfield mates, with his hushed approach. The player who many of the incoming freshmen compared to Reggie Bush, the 2005 vacated Heisman winner, had explosive tape but didn’t say much. 

“That's kinda how he comes off at times,” Madu said. “After he got to know us, he was one of the loudest ones in the room. That's what people don't really know about him. He was always one of the goofiest (players).” 

With time, Madu and Murray slowly built a brotherhood during Schmidt’s legendary grueling double summer workouts. 

Madu remembers Murray lifting him up during the intense workouts during their redshirt freshman season. “I’m gonna need you today, Marco,” Madu recalls yelling out while running in the summer heat. 

That 2006 season, the pair were also able to take in the wonder that was superstar running back Adrian Peterson. Before joining OU’s staff from 2007-10, White personally asked Peterson to guide Murray on and off the field, challenging him to become a leader in all regards. 

“He was always there to help me out because we needed to,” Madu said. “We took the time building that relationship and became brothers like that. We always have each other's back.”

Murray wasn’t all serious all the time, however. Madu recalls as Murray’s stature grew, so did his sense of humor.  Madu and him once joked about his new GMC Yukon — with 20-inch wheels — being a “bumper car” that would deflect other cars off the road like he did to opponents as he sliced through defenses. 

When Murray looks back on his collegiate career, which in four seasons tallied 6,718 all-purpose yards, 65 touchdowns and a trip to the 2009 BCS title game, he doesn’t remember the accolades, but his growth. 

#Sooners holding Media Day today. Here's running backs coach DeMarco Murray on balancing reps in the running back room. pic.twitter.com/BvX6jMdpru

— The Blitz 1170 (@TheBlitz1170) August 1, 2023

“I was able to grow in ways that I wouldn’t have if I had gone anywhere else,” Murray said. “Had I been surrounded by any other people, I don't know what the outcome would have been. 

“This place had a tremendous upbringing of who I am and kind of instilled in me my manhood, my workability, my mindset (and) my mental toughness.”

Madu feels the growth Murray made at OU shaped him into the coach he is now. The player who led by example with his work ethic, now he does the same for those he coaches. 

“He's just a good guy,” Madu said. “He can relate to the guys because he's on the younger side. I also think just being a young Black man who's been successful in life, he could be someone to look up to and learn something in life.”

‘It’s not always easy’

During Week 7 of the 2011 NFL season, then Dallas Cowboys running back coach Skip Peete deployed a by-committee backfield against the St. Louis Rams with starting running back Felix Jones sidelined due to a foot injury. 

Murray was set to share snaps with Tashard Choice and Phillip Tanner, but he had other plans. He finished the day with 253 yards and one touchdown. It was a glimpse into Murray’s future as the Cowboys featured back. 

“I think he did a good job of preparing himself each week,” Peete told the OU Daily. “He put in the time to watch films, study his opponent and basically really knew that opponent like the back of his hand.”

The 2014 Offensive Player of the Year ended his tenure with the Cowboys in 2015, signing a five-year, $42 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles before eventually getting traded to the Tennessee Titans, where he spent the final two seasons of his career before he retired after dealing with a knee injury. 

Throughout his time in the league, Murray learned about the ups and downs that come in professional football, a first-hand understanding that enriches what he brings to coaching players who hope to literally follow in his NFL footsteps. 

In one of the hardest moments his career, White remembers how Murray reacted once he left the Cowboys to sign with Philadelphia.

Days after the fact, Murray flew back down to Dallas to watch a UFC contest with White and Cowboys' wide receiver Miles Austin. He remembers Murray being noticeably bummed out from the decision.  

"The business side of it really hit him," White said. "It was (that experience) that hit him, and that time it hit him hardest."

Murray’s mentality is to be straightforward with the players in his room, mirroring what he was told when he was being recruited by former Oklahoma assistant coach Cale Gundy: You’re always replaceable.

“The moment you get there (is) the moment they're trying to replace you,” Murray said of the game on the college and pro levels. “For me, and some people may call it cutthroat, but it's the same way here. I recruit guys, but the moment you get here, it's my job to find someone who is better than you.” 

While looking back on his career, Murray now says he wishes he had been a more vocal leader. 

He’s applying exactly that as a coach, coupling what he learned in the business and on the field to elevate Oklahoma’s backfield. When Peete visited a year ago, Murray had a quote about ball security pinned on the wall, which made Peete laugh given Murray struggled mightily with ball security on the Cowboys. 

It all left White — the coach who saw running back potential in a lanky linebacker all those years ago — pleasantly surprised at how much Murray has grown. 

“Sometimes you gotta speak up,” White said. “It's not about the juke you made that night or the touchdown. You got to be a present, man, verbally, and lead people. So that was one big thing he wanted to do better, I think he's doing it now.”

‘DeMarco is an OU guy’

Late one night in 2018, Murray’s phone started ringing during a dinner with his wife, Heidi. 

On the other line was Arizona head coach and former Oklahoma assistant Kevin Sumlin, who probed him about joining the Wildcats staff.

After a year in the broadcast industry, the former All-Pro seriously considered joining the Wildcats but was hesitant to make the move 1,618 miles from Nashville to Tucson. 

He called White, who was also being considered for the position, and Stoops, who advised him on what it takes to be a coach. If Murray didn’t take the job, White told him he would, compounding the pressure. 

“I originally said no,” Murray said he told Sumlin. “He said ‘Just come out here and come talk to me.’ So I got on the flight and the rest was history.”

Murray didn’t last long in Arizona, as his then-Arizona redshirt junior running back J.J. Taylor earned 2019 honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors after rushing for a team-high 721 yards (4.9 per carry) and five touchdowns. The next season, Lincoln Riley invited Murray to become the running backs coach at his alma mater, replacing Jay Boulware. 

“I knew when it was all said and done I’d end up back here,” Murray said. “I’ve always felt a great connection with this place, with the people. I've always admired Oklahoma and the simple life and simplicity behind everything and obviously being close to Oklahoma football.” 

Since joining the staff, Murray has made it his mission to diversify the Sooners’ backfield by finding players who can catch passes and run explosively. 

On the recruiting trail, Murray’s philosophy mirrors his playing style: quiet, humble and able to close with a flourish when needed. 

“I want great kids,” Murray said. “I want kids, if I leave the building, I'm not worried about them. I don't want to get the calls. I don't want to be messed with when I'm not at a building. It’s also (about) the mindset, physicality and the importance of guys who know what they want to get their dreams accomplished.” 

After Riley left for USC in 2021, Murray had an offer to join him in Los Angeles and was initially hesitant about staying and coaching under Brent Venables. A call with White reassured him. 

“Every time Brent talks you kind of see a shoulder shift in the room,” White said. “I was one of them. I told DeMarco, ‘You wait and watch, that's what is going to impress you the most.’”

Murray ultimately decided to stay with his alma mater and build the program with Venables. 

“Of course (Lincoln) wanted him to go out there,” White said. “But DeMarco is an OU guy and he wants to stay there and work his butt off for his alma mater and keep his family there.”

Murray stiff-armed Riley again last month, winning the recruiting battle for four-star Taylor Tatum, the No. 1 running back in the class of 2024, who chose OU over USC. 

Weeks before his commitment to OU, Murray raved about the 4-star prospect to White while relaxing at his house in Norman. He spoke highly of Tatum by saying he "had a great family" and the Sooners desperately hoped they "had a shot" over USC. 

Once Murray learned of Tatum's destination, He celebrated by posting a video on Twitter of him saying “YAMAHA,” a secret word he uses when he lands a big recruit the meaning of which he won’t disclose to anyone other than former Dallas teammates Jason Witten and Austin. 

#YAMAHA‼️ pic.twitter.com/aGJxzdVYt4

— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) July 21, 2023

Nowadays, Murray is shaping Oklahoma’s running-back room with the vision Stoops once had for him when he was a player. He wants running backs that are versatile, similar to the play styles of both him and Peterson. 

“When I first got the job there were five or six guys who were really good players,” Murray said. “They were all similar. They (had) the same height, they all did the same thing.

“I want to rearrange the room and make sure that you're not recruiting the same guys every single year. You want guys who obviously can catch more, guys who could run routes ... but they're all still physical. They're all smart. They're all dependable.”

Murray plans on building his room with a familial like approach, the same that Venables’ preaches, which was on display when he invited each player to a pool party before the start of camp. Murray sent each player a text: “Be at my house at one o'clock.” 

The next message followed: “Barbecue, Charleston's or Mexican?”

#RBU pic.twitter.com/eACrWeH9bd

— DeMarco Murray (@DeMarcoMurray) July 16, 2023

Murray and the group eventually landed on barbecue, but the meeting was meant to set the tone for the upcoming season. With OU's fall training camp officially underway, Oklahoma’s running back coach is leading the Sooners out of the pool and into the gridiron of the 2023 season with a renewed mentality. 

“We can't waste a day,” Murray said. “I'll say a year ago we had a lot of transition, a lot of things happening to where it was stacked against us, but we battled and we had a good year, solid year, obviously not a great year that we're accustom to. I believe that we're gonna have a better year this year.”

This story was edited by Colton Sulley and Louis Raser. Mary Ann Livingood and Nikkie Aisha copy edited this story.