Riley fully expects Kyler Murray to be a QB next season

TULSA – Lincoln Riley arrived in Tulsa Thursday night for the OU Caravan after most of the state spent a good month speculating on the future of potential starting quarterback Kyler Murray.

It has been speculated Murray could be a high draft pick in next week's MLB Draft, thus putting his college football career in jeopardy.

Murray, who is currently hitting .296 with 10 HRs and 47 RBIs has been projected as a potential first-round pick next week.

But on Wednesday, Riley made his strongest statement yet regarding Murray's future.

"I don’t really care a whole lot about what happens in the draft," said Riley. "I’ve had good conversations with Kyler, his family and I fully expect him to be with us. I really don’t have any worries about it."

During the 2017 offseason, Murray was chasing his baseball dreams instead of working with the football team during summer conditioning.

While Baker Mayfield was preparing for a Heisman Trophy winning season, Murray was swinging a bat in the Cape Cod League. Many wondered if Murray might do the same this summer. But Riley shot down those fears as well.

"He’ll be with us this summer," proclaimed the Sooners head coach.

Riley has been consistent throughout Murray's two-sport career. But fans have been concerned as more and more writers who cover baseball continued to talk up Murray as a potential high draft pick.

Riley continues to lean on his discussions with Murray and his family while the outside world continues to bite their nails.

"Everybody else has been a lot more worried about it than me. I haven’t lost one night of sleep on it, so I apologize if anyone else has," Riley said. "I mean, I knew the deal getting into it. When he first decided to leave A&M we had very candid conversations with him and his family about it. They have lived up to their word — every part of it. I have no doubt they’ll continue to do so and I think they’d say the same about us."

Currently, Murray is in Tallahassee, Florida, for the start of the NCAA Baseball Regional at Florida State.

OU's cleanup hitter has missed the last two games because of a hamstring injury suffered rounding first base early in the Big 12 Tournament.

With freshman reporting this weekend, it's likely Murray will be a bit tender to start offseason workouts. But Riley says he has no concerns there either.

"We talk about all of it," he said. "We have a great working relationship with those guys, both coaches to coaches, strength coaches to strength coaches, trainers to trainers. They’re all on the same page, we’re all on the same page if something shows up that we need to discuss, we do it. Along with Kyler, we decide the best course of action. It’s been a team effort with very few glitches."

And Riley continues to have few concerns about Murray being an option for the Sooners at quarterback in 2018.