The plan seemed so clear in June, when Kyler Murray, his family and his agent arrived in Oakland, California, to celebrate the signing of an unprecedented contract with the Athletics.
As part of the agreement, Murray would play football for only one more season at Oklahoma, if only to exhaust his desire for the game and clear his mind in order to embark on a promising baseball career. After languishing at Texas A&M, then sitting behind Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield at Oklahoma, Murray also wanted to prove he was still a big-time football player, capable of fulfilling the vast potential on display during a spectacular high school career in Allen, Texas.