Blgs Gazette Reports Murray Not w/ Program

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Blgs Gazette Reports Murray Not w/ Program

Post by Cledus » Fri Jun 07, 2019 9:21 am



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Murray Question.

Post by football fan 0120 » Fri Jun 07, 2019 9:29 am

Did Murray do ok academically in HS to be a college student or did Choate roll the dice on him?



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Re: Murray Question.

Post by Cledus » Fri Jun 07, 2019 9:35 am

football fan 0120 wrote:
Fri Jun 07, 2019 9:29 am
Did Murray do ok academically in HS to be a college student or did Choate roll the dice on him?
I don't know. Maybe everyone assumed he was a wunderkind because he graduated HS at 17 and didn't do enough to make sure he would meet the requirements and school load. Or maybe he came from a HS that inflated grades.


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Re: Murray Question.

Post by Prodigal Cat » Fri Jun 07, 2019 10:18 am

football fan 0120 wrote:
Fri Jun 07, 2019 9:29 am
Did Murray do ok academically in HS to be a college student or did Choate roll the dice on him?
CM was an Ash recruit and Choate honored the offer as he did for all of the recruits that year.


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Re: Blgs Gazette Reports Murray Not w/ Program

Post by utucats » Fri Jun 07, 2019 10:59 am

It’s unfortunate. I’d assume that he was given a lot more help than the average kid would get and still couldn’t get his stuff together. Doesn’t mean he’s a bad kid but if he doesn’t have what it takes to buckle down and get this done(with two chances) then he probably shouldn’t be leading our offense.

I wonder if he was given an easy path in HS and just wasn’t prepared for college??? I know that happens and doesn’t do the student/athlete any good in the long run.


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Re: Blgs Gazette Reports Murray Not w/ Program

Post by bobcatfan123 » Fri Jun 07, 2019 11:19 am

utucats wrote:
Fri Jun 07, 2019 10:59 am
It’s unfortunate. I’d assume that he was given a lot more help than the average kid would get and still couldn’t get his stuff together. Doesn’t mean he’s a bad kid but if he doesn’t have what it takes to buckle down and get this done(with two chances) then he probably shouldn’t be leading our offense.

I wonder if he was given an easy path in HS and just wasn’t prepared for college??? I know that happens and doesn’t do the student/athlete any good in the long run.
I would strongly advice CM to look at trade school. Just because he is not scholastic doesn't mean he can't be successful. Lots of very intelligent people don't respond well to book learning. Many of my friends have taKen this path and make more money than I do. Best luck to you young man. Thanks for all the memories.



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Re: Blgs Gazette Reports Murray Not w/ Program

Post by imacat » Fri Jun 07, 2019 11:43 am

I have no information on the details and it is not my place to know.

I wish Chris Murray all the best and thank him for the memories and his contributions to Bobcat football.


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Re: Blgs Gazette Reports Murray Not w/ Program

Post by imacat » Fri Jun 07, 2019 11:49 am

I did find this quote by Coach Choate puzzling. How the Bobcats perform on a national level is certainly important to me.

“We’re just down here in Bozeman keeping our head to the grindstone, so we’ll see. I think we’ve built and built, and I think people know that we’re going to be a tough outfit. But as far as what that means on the national scale, it doesn’t mean a damn thing to me. It really doesn’t.”



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Re: Blgs Gazette Reports Murray Not w/ Program

Post by TomCat88 » Fri Jun 07, 2019 11:51 am

imacat wrote:
Fri Jun 07, 2019 11:49 am
I did find this quote by Coach Choate puzzling. How the Bobcats perform on a national level is certainly important to me.

“We’re just down here in Bozeman keeping our head to the grindstone, so we’ll see. I think we’ve built and built, and I think people know that we’re going to be a tough outfit. But as far as what that means on the national scale, it doesn’t mean a damn thing to me. It really doesn’t.”
You’re not taking it in the proper context.

Here’s the entire quote:
“The national polls at the FCS level are, ‘Who made the playoffs last year, let’s put them somewhere in here.’ I just don’t think that it really means a lot,” Choate said. “When you look closer to home, here’s what people in the Big Sky think of us: They picked us eighth last year and we’ve had exactly one first-team all-conference player in each of my three years here. So I still have a chip on my shoulder.

“You look over the hill at Montana, they have multiple all-conference guys every year. National player of the year candidates, et cetera. We’ve got a lot of work to do and we’ve got a lot to prove.

“We’re just down here in Bozeman keeping our head to the grindstone, so we’ll see. I think we’ve built and built, and I think people know that we’re going to be a tough outfit. But as far as what that means on the national scale, it doesn’t mean a damn thing to me. It really doesn’t.” [\quote]


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Re: Blgs Gazette Reports Murray Not w/ Program

Post by Catsrgrood » Fri Jun 07, 2019 12:45 pm

imacat wrote:
Fri Jun 07, 2019 11:49 am
I did find this quote by Coach Choate puzzling. How the Bobcats perform on a national level is certainly important to me.

“We’re just down here in Bozeman keeping our head to the grindstone, so we’ll see. I think we’ve built and built, and I think people know that we’re going to be a tough outfit. But as far as what that means on the national scale, it doesn’t mean a damn thing to me. It really doesn’t.”
He’s talking about where the Cats sit in a couple of polls in early June, not that he doesn’t care how they perform on the field.



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Re: Blgs Gazette Reports Murray Not w/ Program

Post by Cataholic » Fri Jun 07, 2019 1:03 pm

This might be a better thread for my other post:

I hope Chris can find his path in life and be successful. College is not for everyone. Maybe he can get a chance at a pro level league. College degree is not a requirement to play at a higher level. Before Troy arrived, the opposition and media regularly called Murray the best athlete on the field. He could be capable at wideout.

Can he try the JUCO route? Not to get a look by a D1 school, but to demonstrate his ability for the pros.



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Re: Murray Question.

Post by arvcat2 » Fri Jun 07, 2019 2:59 pm

Prodigal Cat wrote:
Fri Jun 07, 2019 10:18 am
football fan 0120 wrote:
Fri Jun 07, 2019 9:29 am
Did Murray do ok academically in HS to be a college student or did Choate roll the dice on him?
CM was an Ash recruit and Choate honored the offer as he did for all of the recruits that year.
For the umteenth time, Murray committed to Choate approximately one week before LOI signing day. However, he was being recruited by Ash's staff. It was Field's who honored all the commitments (not offers) made to Ash prior to Ash's termination.



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Re: Murray Question.

Post by CelticCat » Fri Jun 07, 2019 4:09 pm

arvcat2 wrote:
Fri Jun 07, 2019 2:59 pm
Prodigal Cat wrote:
Fri Jun 07, 2019 10:18 am
football fan 0120 wrote:
Fri Jun 07, 2019 9:29 am
Did Murray do ok academically in HS to be a college student or did Choate roll the dice on him?
CM was an Ash recruit and Choate honored the offer as he did for all of the recruits that year.
For the umteenth time, Murray committed to Choate approximately one week before LOI signing day. However, he was being recruited by Ash's staff. It was Field's who honored all the commitments (not offers) made to Ash prior to Ash's termination.
How is that any different? If Ash offered Murray, was then fired ,and Murray accepted the offer that the new staff extended (even if at Field's request), is it not safe to say that Murray was here because of Ash, and not Choate? Yes he could've declined the offer when Ash was fired but we were his only D1 offer if I remember correctly, or maybe Portland State had offered too, I can't remember.


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Re: Blgs Gazette Reports Murray Not w/ Program

Post by Go Scats Go » Fri Jun 07, 2019 4:19 pm



CelticCat wrote:Well it's because the Griz are the only program in Montana of course.

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Re: Blgs Gazette Reports Murray Not w/ Program

Post by Go Scats Go » Fri Jun 07, 2019 4:22 pm



CelticCat wrote:Well it's because the Griz are the only program in Montana of course.

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Re: Murray Question.

Post by AFCAT » Fri Jun 07, 2019 4:36 pm

CelticCat wrote:
Fri Jun 07, 2019 4:09 pm
arvcat2 wrote:
Fri Jun 07, 2019 2:59 pm
Prodigal Cat wrote:
Fri Jun 07, 2019 10:18 am
football fan 0120 wrote:
Fri Jun 07, 2019 9:29 am
Did Murray do ok academically in HS to be a college student or did Choate roll the dice on him?
CM was an Ash recruit and Choate honored the offer as he did for all of the recruits that year.
For the umteenth time, Murray committed to Choate approximately one week before LOI signing day. However, he was being recruited by Ash's staff. It was Field's who honored all the commitments (not offers) made to Ash prior to Ash's termination.
How is that any different? If Ash offered Murray, was then fired ,and Murray accepted the offer that the new staff extended (even if at Field's request), is it not safe to say that Murray was here because of Ash, and not Choate? Yes he could've declined the offer when Ash was fired but we were his only D1 offer if I remember correctly, or maybe Portland State had offered too, I can't remember.
Newspaper article

Chris Murray anxiously shifted in his seat as the plane steadily climbed, charting a course south and east toward Los Angeles. Toward home. Toward the unknown.
He slipped on his headphones.

“I tried to clear my head, but that was literally impossible,” he admitted recently. “It’s just human nature, I guess.”
He appreciated the honesty, but not the uncertainty. The previous months brimmed with it, so much so that the 17-year-old occasionally was reduced to tears and had to be consoled by his mother, Hilda Valenzuela.

The Lawndale High senior departed his official visit at Montana State the weekend before 2016’s National Signing Day with no offer, but a promise. Newly-appointed head coach Jeff Choate said he still was considering extending a scholarship to one of two signal-callers — the lanky Southern Californian and the other, admittedly, a long shot who had garnered scores of attention.
Murray, who said he had no other offers, would have an answer by the time he landed, Choate assured him.
“I honestly don’t know what I would’ve been doing if I wasn’t in Bozeman right now, to tell you the truth,” Murray said. “I don’t know if I’d be at a (junior college) or if I would’ve just said screw it, you know?”
Not long after rubber collided with the LAX tarmac, Murray pulled out his phone. With eyes glued to the screen, he switched it on.
Choate would call minutes later.
The youngster’s life would change.
One of the Big Sky’s most electrifying and enigmatic talents thinks of that day often as his second season here winds down. When he is frustrated by the close losses and inconsistency on the field, or by the coursework and responsibilities piling up off of it. When his confidence waxes and wanes.
When he misses the sun, sand and Valenzuela.
“When there’s things with school or even football, times when I’m like, ‘I don’t want to do this,’ you just have to think about where you come from. You just have to be thankful that you’ve even made it here,” the 6-foot-2, 180-pounder said.
“You have to cherish every moment. You have to take advantage of your opportunities.”
Murray did not expect many of those to materialize last season. He was intent on watching and learning upon his arrival.
Coaches were honest with their raw talent. They had spent the offseason tailoring an offense toward transfer and pocket-passer Tyler Bruggman’s strengths. Murray, who enticed in camp, particularly with his speed, likely would have to wait his turn.
“I was like, ’OK, I’m going to wait two years. I’m going to do it the Aaron Rodgers way,” he joked, referencing the Green Bay Packers star’s early apprenticeship under incumbent Brett Favre.
“It doesn’t matter which way you take. There are a lot of ways you can get there, you just have to do your part.”
That meant a small package in an opening loss to Idaho in which Murray rushed for 3 yards and completed his only pass for 4. Then came three carries for 42 in a win over Bryant.
As Bruggman’s struggles mounted, however, so did Murray’s repetitions. In an early-October visit to Sacramento State, a big lead was squandered and a quarterback controversy ignited.
Murray was inserted before the conclusion of the opening quarter. On his first three drives alone, he fielded 12 snaps, MSU logged 211 yards and scored three times. That preceded his impressive bursts of 58 and 59.
He finished with 187 and three rushing scores in addition to 104 through the air. One week later, Murray was anointed starter for the Weber State game, a mantle he has maintained ever since.
Murray said he was comfortable with the appointment. He was named Lawndale’s starter as a 13-year-old, after all, though he had to wait until he turned 14 on Oct. 9 to take the field, per administrative stipulations.
He threw for 778 here, rushed for another 860 and accounted for 18 touchdowns during a Big Sky Freshman of the Year campaign heavy on highlights, though light on victories.
Still, Murray did help engineer a pair of turnover-free, efficient season-ending efforts against UC Davis and Montana. In the latter, he completed only two passes — one to seal the win on fourth and 1 in the final minutes — but found the end zone on runs of 8 and 48. The second gave the Bobcats a second-quarter lead they would never relinquish.
Quick-triggered photographers memorialized the first, on which he launched himself into the air and flipped over both a defender and the goal line.
“My read key was the defensive end and I just remember he played down so hard that I went around him so fast. I was like, ‘What do I do now? Do I pitch it because we’ve already outflanked them, or are we already too close for that?’” Murray recounted. “I just said, ‘I’m going to run it,’ and then once I saw the safety (Yamen Sanders), my instinct was to jump. … My momentum carried me over perfectly.
“Obviously, that was a very big moment. People have started noticing me. It feels good — I’m thankful for it, I really am — but at the same time, you’ve just got to stay humble and continue to work.”
By all accounts, he has been diligent in the ensuing months, many under the discerning eye of new quarterbacks coach and program legend DeNarius McGhee.
Murray emerged as a more polished and confident passer by summer’s end. Through two months of his sophomore season, however, his career trajectory in many ways mirrors that of Choate’s second team: He possesses talent and competitiveness, but has some maturing to do and some consistency to acquire.
Such was the message Choate imparted on his signal-caller when the two huddled following an October loss at Eastern Washington.
“It had nothing to do with what was going on between the white lines,” the coach asserted. “It’s about preparation and what the expectation is with you as our quarterback and what your teammates need to see and how you need to handle certain things. … Chris is a smart guy and he’s also a really competitive guy and I think he gets it.”
Added offensive coordinator Brian Armstrong, “On Saturdays we’ve all seen really good Chris, and really good Chris is pretty darn good. … There’s no doubt he has the ability to make plays, there’s no doubt that he gives us a heck of a chance to win when he plays well. All my talks with him are just, ‘Hey, let’s be the same guy every day. We don’t need consistently great, we need consistently good and occasionally great. We’ve got to stay away from the bad, and definitely the awful.’”
Murray was great in the closing minutes against Northern Colorado. With the Bears supplying no pass rush, opting instead to contain the Bobcats quarterback, he methodically scanned the field, scrambled at times and threw the ball away others. In between, he hit receivers Jabarri Johnson and Kevin Kassis for gains of 22 and 18 and third-down conversions. The nearly three-minute, 73-yard march positioned Gabe Peppenger for the program’s first walk-off, game-winning field goal in more than a decade.
Murray was good a week later, throwing for 231, rushing for 67, helping his team amass a 14-point cushion early and receiving an assist from the defense late in a win over Idaho State.
Despite touchdowns on his side’s opening possessions in each half against Kennesaw State, however, Murray repeatedly was corralled and visibly frustrated, at one point slamming his helmet on the frozen turf.
His interception in the final moments on a toss that sailed well high of Kassis sealed another gut-wrenching loss.
The work continues.
“He’s not a finished product, as much as we want him to be and just say, ‘OK, let’s cut him loose,’” Choate said. “You can still see there’s things where it’s like you almost see him growing in front of our eyes. … He’s just about where we need him to be, and then we’ll ask him to do some more and he’ll have to grow some more.”
“He has big-play ability and he’s getting better, but this is a weekly process,” McGhee added. “He’s starting to understand what it takes to be an elite quarterback. To be the face of the program you have to be excellent in pretty much all aspects — you have to have your life in order. We’ll take that next step and Chris is committed to it. The good news is every day, every week is a new opportunity.”
None are bigger than Saturday.
Murray will cherish this moment.
“Last year’s game does give me a lot of confidence and I do feel like I’m progressing well,” he said. “At the same time, all that is is potential. It’s like Coach Choate says sometimes: ‘Screw the potential. Let’s just go out and do it.’”


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Re: Blgs Gazette Reports Murray Not w/ Program

Post by CelticCat » Fri Jun 07, 2019 4:52 pm

Go Scats Go wrote:
Fri Jun 07, 2019 4:22 pm
Thanks for reposting this, your service to this board is appreciated.


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Re: Blgs Gazette Reports Murray Not w/ Program

Post by DriscollCat » Fri Jun 07, 2019 8:25 pm

imacat wrote:
Fri Jun 07, 2019 11:43 am
I have no information on the details and it is not my place to know.

I wish Chris Murray all the best and thank him for the memories and his contributions to Bobcat football.


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Re: Blgs Gazette Reports Murray Not w/ Program

Post by BobCatFan » Wed Jun 12, 2019 9:08 pm


You know, I thought Murray's best position could have been wr. Sorry to seen him not get the chance at this position.



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