Coming from the University of Central Florida is Latavius Murray, a professional American footballer who plays as a running back in the National Football League. His career has seen him do some exciting things on the field and being that he is young, a lot is still yet to come from this young man. As we follow and watch him play his football all the way to the top, let’s take a look at his biography and see how far he has come to be where he is today.
Latavius Murray Biography (Age)
It was on the 18th day of January 1990 when Latavius Murray was born to Paul Murray and Tawanna Wright in Titusville, Florida. He has a sister named Eliana Murray.
Growing up, the kid received formal education at Onondaga Central High School in Onondaga, New York, where he excelled as a three-sport athlete notably in football, basketball, and track events. As you would imagine, he was popular among his peers, more so he garnered lots of accolades for his exceptional football talent which include being named for three straight seasons in the All-league and All-Central New York selection, 2007 Gatorade Football Player of the Year in the state of New York and many others.
As his high school football career came to an end following his graduation, Latavius Murray had before him scholarship offers from Syracuse University, University of Maryland, Boston College, and a couple of others. He, however, began his college career with UCF Knights at the University of Central Florida in 2008. Not only did he start off impressively, he got even better with each passing season. The lad would then finish his college career with a cumulative 2,424 rushing yards, 50 receptions, 37 rushing touchdowns, 524 receiving yards, and 6 receiving touchdowns. With such commendable college football stats, Murray was selected in the 181st overall pick in the sixth round by the Oakland Raiders in the 2013 NFL Draft. This pick made him the 15th running back to be selected that season.
Professional Career
On the 6th of June 2013, Latavius Murray committed himself to a four-year contract worth $2.26 million which included a guaranteed $106,200 and a signing bonus of $106,200. He would however not see any action in his rookie season as he was placed on injured reserve.
Coming to the 2014 season, the Titusville kid began firing on all cylinders starting from Week 11, team veterans Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew had lost form all year round and Murray had to come to the rescue of his team. To this, he proved his worth as a running back by posting 424 rushing yards with 2 rushing touchdowns and 82 carries all in 15 games.
Following the retirement of veteran Maurice Jones-Drew and the departure of his co-veteran Darren McFadden, it was incumbent on Latavius Murray to receive a majority of the carries and as expected, he began the season as the starting running back. He broke Darren McFadden’s 1,000-yard mark rushing record and finished the eventful football season with 1,066 rushing yards, 6 rushing touchdowns, a clean 41 receptions with 232 receiving yards all to himself.
Latavius continued with his impressive form into the 2016 season which also became his last with the Raiders. He had a career-high 12 rushing touchdowns, rushing for 788 yards all in 14 games. His pass protection ability was rated the third-best in the league.
As the saying goes, whatever has a beginning definitely has an end. Having been with the Oakland Raiders from the 2013 season through 2016, his four-year contract came to an end and it was time for him to chart another path for his career with another team. The Minnesota Vikings came calling.
To show just how well the former UCF Knights running back has improved over the years, his March 16, 2017, three-year contract with the Minnesota Vikings was reported to be worth $15,000,000 (563.72% increase from $2.26 million), including a $1,800,000 signing bonus with $8,550,000 guaranteed. This placed him on an average annual salary of $5,000,000.
So far, his time as a Viking in the 2017 season boasts of 842 rushing yards with 8 rushing touchdowns, 15 receptions, and 103 receiving yards with many more still to come. The Minnesota Vikings won the NFC North with Latavius Murray and found themselves in the playoffs as the #2-seed. They went past the New Orleans Saints in the Divisional Round with a 29–24 victory but lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship in a 38-7 defeat.
Height, Weight, Body Stats
The Titusville, Florida footballer stands at a height of 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) and weighs 230 lb (104 kg). He spots an athletic build and by the time we obtain his other body stats, we will know at what exact figures his body has been ripped to.
