Murray May Be Hawaii’s First First-Round Pick

The long wait until the National Football League draft in April has begun for Walter Murray.

Based on his four-year performance, the swift University of Hawaii wide receiver who broke John Jefferson’s Western Athletic Conference record for career yards (2,867) could become the first first-round pick from the University of Hawaii.

And just to make sure professional scouts get a couple more looks, the 6-4, 200-pound Murray, a one-time Olympic track hopeful, will participate in two major All-Star games, the Hula and Senior bowls.

“He’s been very consistent and has really improved his catching skills,” said receiver coach Geoff DeLapp of Murray’s achievements.

But Murray also has impressed his coaches and scouts with his performance in other areas that has made him a well-rounded athlete.

“He gets to catch a lot of balls, but the way you get to catch a lot of balls is by doing well on the other plays,” DeLapp said. “In the film highlights of the season, some of his best plays will not be pass plays, but his blocking.”

Of Murray’s professional potential, DeLapp said, “Some guys say he’s definitely a first- or second-round draft choice. Others talk about the third through the fifth.”

As for Murray, he said, “At the beginning of the year, a scout told me if (quarterback) Gregg (Tipton) couldn’t get me the ball, I’d probably go in the third round, and if he did, I’d probably go in the first.”

By season’s end, Murray held all of Hawaii’s pass catching records so one might assume that Tipton got the ball to Murray a lot.

Playing in the NFL always has been Murray’s dream, but there was a time when he wondered whether he was going to live.

During his senior season at Berkeley (Calif.) High School, Murray suffered a ruptured spleen and a punctured lung during a game.

Until then, the offers for football scholarships were his for the taking. You name them -- the Pacific 10, Big 10, Big 8, Southwest Conference -- had all heard of the long-striding wide receiver and were in hot pursuit.

But, just as quickly, the demand for his services fell off to practically zero.

He was advised to give up the game because of the severity of the injury and with that Murray’s chances of playing at a nationally recognizable university appeared to vanish overnight.

“When I got hurt, the contacts stopped completely,” he said. “Everybody backed off. Because of the injury, people said I’d be afraid to play football again. I wanted to prove them that I wasn’t afraid and I also wanted to prove it to myself.”

As for Hawaii still being in the picture, he said, “I guess Hawaii never got the word.”

Actually, Hawaii did get the word and assistant coach Daryl Edralin was scouting another player when he noticed Murray on the track field.

“We were actually going after one of his teammates,” Edralin recalled. “Adam Rita (former Hawaii assistant) was sitting in the beachers talking to the prospect when he noticed Murray running around the track.”

With those long-loping strides, it was easy to catch Rita’s attention, Edralin said.

“Once we got clearances from his coach and doctor, we started going after him full bore,” Edralin recalled. “And that was about a week before the first national letters of intent were due.”

The renewed interest also perked the curiosity of other schools, particularly from the Pac-10, Murray said.

“But I had made up my mind,” he said. “I wanted to get away and be on my own. Hawaii came along at the right time because I knew if I came here it would be different an I’d be forced to grow up being on my own. I have no regrets.”