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CAPITAL ONE ORANGE BOWL: ALABAMA VS OKLAHOMA

December 27, 2018

Kyler Murray

Miami Gardens, Florida

KYLER MURRAY: I was feeling really bad. I obviously would have loved to be there but we felt it was best I didn't go because of how I was feeling. I didn't really know what it was, but I didn't feel good.

Q. How are you today?
KYLER MURRAY: I feel good.

Q. Is it possible that after the month you've had, with the award shows, is it possible you just were worn out, because you've --
KYLER MURRAY: Yeah, I was surprised I made it this long, flying, Oklahoma, Atlanta, New York, back home, going to Dallas, all this stuff. I actually hadn't felt anything up until this point. I think for me, just trying to just be as healthy as possible come Saturday.

Q. Did you have a fever?
KYLER MURRAY: Fever? I don't know. I just -- like I said, I felt really bad. I don't remember the last time I had a fever.

Q. You're going to be fine to play, right?
KYLER MURRAY: Yes.

Q. Would you mind reflecting a little bit on your future? You have a choice after this game and then potentially the next game between two sports. Could you talk philosophically about how you're going to approach that?
KYLER MURRAY: Right now obviously I'm going to play baseball, but I'm not focused on any of that right now. My main focus is Saturday, getting ready to play this game. Obviously I've always been -- it's never bad to have options, but yeah, right now my main focus is this game.

Q. Do you expect to declare for the NFL Draft?
KYLER MURRAY: Do I expect to?

Q. Yeah.
KYLER MURRAY: I just told you. No, right now I'm focused on playing this game.

Q. (Indiscernible).
KYLER MURRAY: I mean, they're a good defense. It's going to be -- at the end of the day, it's going to come down to who makes more plays, who puts up the most points. If you're in the playoffs, you're good. They've obviously got a great defense.

Q. Has it set in that this might be the last competitive football game that you might ever play?
KYLER MURRAY: No, it really hasn't. I try not to think about when my last game is going to be, whenever that is. I just go into every game as if it is the last. You never know when that's going to be, so for me, I just go in as hard as possible and give it all to my boys and my teammates.

Q. Do you think people are tired of seeing Alabama here always?
KYLER MURRAY: I mean, for them I guess it's a good problem to have. They win a lot. We win a lot. But I mean, I guess -- I know where you're coming from. It just depends who you're talking to. I don't really care, but I guess there is a lot of people -- I've heard a lot of people say beat Alabama just because they don't like Alabama or whatever. But I'm not really too much into that.

Q. They're rooting for you just because they're rooting against Alabama?
KYLER MURRAY: Yeah, I guess.

Q. What makes them a difficult defense to face?
KYLER MURRAY: I mean, they don't make a lot of mistakes. Obviously they're coached well. They've got guys all over the field. So again, for us it's going to be a challenge. But we're ready to accept that challenge, and it's going to be fun.

Q. Do you believe you can move the ball at the same level against this team?
KYLER MURRAY: Yes.

Q. Would you have guessed going into the season that if you got here, you'd be getting asked questions about the NFL Draft? It didn't seem like it was on the radar yet.
KYLER MURRAY: No, I mean, obviously it wasn't in the air, but I've always felt like 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 how big you are, how tall you are. But for me, I've played this game my whole life and I've always felt like I could do it.

Q. When you signed the contract with the A's, did you think at the time you were kind of -- that that wasn't even going to be a possibility anymore, or did you always feel like that might be if you played well?
KYLER MURRAY: I always felt like it might be, honestly. That's the thing is that's like nobody -- nobody expected any of this but me, the people that are closest to people. People have always known, people have always watched me play, whether it was football or baseball, nobody expected it, so now it's kind of like what do you do? But for me, I'm just taking it one day at a time and doing what I've always done.

Q. How has the thought process changed since you signed that contract, just the talk about the NFL?
KYLER MURRAY: Nothing has changed. I haven't put any energy into worrying about it or anything like that. All I can do is go out and play on Saturday and let my play speak for itself.

Q. (Indiscernible)?
KYLER MURRAY: Honestly, none of it was about sports when I got to talk to all the guys. It was just making sure you got the right people around you, stuff like that, just making sure your circle is small, which it already is. Yeah, I was definitely honored to be around all those great athletes, dudes that have done it before. I've always watched those guys growing up, so it was definitely good for me.

Q. Did you discuss at all how they made their decision?
KYLER MURRAY: No, I haven't got to -- there's not many guys that have done it, so I haven't really got to ask how they kind of worked out the process involved.

Q. They've talked about trying to keep you guys one-dimensional. How important is the run in this game?
KYLER MURRAY: Obviously it's very important. I mean, I think any -- it's important for any team who wants to win a game to be able to run the ball. You've got to be able to run the ball. That opens up everything else. So for us, we're going to have to establish it but at the same time, you know, execute our offense. Whatever Coach Riley calls, it's our job to go out there and execute.

Q. What's your favorite highlight been this year? Is there a highlight that stands out for you from this year?
KYLER MURRAY: There's a lot of highlights. It's been a fun year. But for me, like I said, I'm not a satisfied guy, so for me, it's -- the highlight would be winning a National Championship.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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