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College Hero

On any given Saturday in 2018, you could find Kyler Murray, and myself, standing on Owen Field in Norman, Oklahoma. Today, I photograph Murray as a member of the Arizona Cardinals, but during that Heisman-winning season, we were both Oklahoma Sooners.

Kyler and his family returned to the University of Oklahoma the week before the NFL Draft to cement (almost literally) his college career with a statue outside of Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, and I was there to capture it all as a Cardinals photographer with OU DNA.

To Oklahomans and any Sooner football fan, the Heisman Trophy is akin to the Lombardi. That bit of context hopefully explains the importance of the weekend's events and why the red carpet is rolled out for every Heisman winner that visits campus.

Kyler's celebrations began with a private event Friday night in Oklahoma City. From the minute he walked through the door (with his dog, Swoosh, in tow), he was signing autographs, posing for photos with fans and embracing former teammates and coaches.

After posing with all of the living OU Heisman winners, Murray took a seat with his family to prepare for the statue reveal.

After the OU athletic director, president and former coaches spoke about Kyler's career, some special teammates headed to the stage to make their own remarks.

One of whom was a familiar face to Cardinals fans: Marquise "Hollywood" Brown.

The bond Murray and Brown have goes way beyond football, and it is special to see former college teammates continue a friendship into the NFL and support each other.

As the statue design was revealed, Kyler sat in between his parents, Kevin and Missy, and took it all in.

Kyler took photos with as many fans as he could. I never saw him turn down an autograph, even when kids just came up with their event credentials for him to sign.

As the night concluded, he sat on the stage for a couple solo shots. That night was the private reveal, and the next day would be where the real fun began.

Leaving A Legacy

The University of Oklahoma commissions a bronze statue for every Heisman winner and places them right outside of the stadium for all fans to see. These likenesses, all more than 12 feet tall, of each player stand watch over the OU Football program, cementing a legacy forever.

I covered Kyler's 2018 season that ended in a Heisman Trophy for him and a front-page spread in the OU Daily for me. Fans were gathered all around the statue Saturday morning, and while they were all donning OU hats and jerseys, one particular piece of memorabilia caught my eye.

The weekend was all about cherishing the moments of the past and celebrating accomplishments. The Cardinals staff recognized how big of a moment this was for Kyler and decided to surprise him at the ceremony.

Kyler later told me that Colt McCoy actually "let it slip" that some coaches would be coming to Norman (an OU/Texas rivalry sabotage, Colt?), but he was all smiles and hugs for head coach Jonathan Gannon and general manager Monti Ossenfort when he saw them. Also on hand were assistant coaches Drew Petzing, Israel Woolfork and Connor Senger, along with media relations men Mark Dalton and Chris Melvin.

Swoosh, Kyler's dog, had a great time, too. The gentle giant was petted by all the guests and silently judging the OU mascots.

As the statue was finally revealed to the public in its rightful place in Heisman Park, the crowd was roaring.

Until the Oklahoma winds blew the biodegradable confetti all over us.

The statue shows Kyler about the throw the ball, donning his classic headband.

OU fans always like to joke about what the statues look like, but the sculptor sure nailed this one.

The Cardinals staff on hand gave Kyler his congratulations and posed for photos before heading back to Phoenix to continue preparing for this year's NFL Draft.

It was really awesome to see Kyler celebrating the achievements that got him to his NFL career with his current NFL coaches.

Kyler added one final touch to the statue before heading inside for the Spring Game: a signature followed by the words "'18 Heisman."

Home Field Advantage

It was a surreal time following Kyler through the ins and outs of the OU Football stadium, one we've both come to know and love over the years.

The whole crew headed up to the suite area to relax, but not before signing a couple more autographs for fans.

I went down on the field to relive the college glory days and capture the special helmet decals the players were wearing to honor Kyler.

The weather was not ideal (typical Oklahoma spring), so Hollywood and Kyler ended up with matching OU Football hoodies to escape the cold.

Halftime of the Spring Game was Kyler's time to shine. He entered the field from a cloud of smoke and thanked all of Sooner Nation for their support throughout the years.

Kyler rushed over 60 yards per game on average in that stadium, so we got used to watching him up and down the sidelines.

Something new I witnessed this weekend though was Kyler signing autographs and taking photos for almost 100 yards of fans.

Even when people tried to tell him he should go back inside, he wanted to make sure everyone who had waited for him and supported him got something out of it.

Especially the couple Cardinals jerseys he spotted!

Eventually, I knew I needed a photo of Kyler and Hollywood together, the two OU-turned-Cardinals players.

They lined up by the fans to get a giant group shot, and started giggling once I put my camera up.

There was an explosion of laughter from the two of them, can you guess why?

Hollywood shared the answer with me after: "K1 was on his tippy-toes." Best friends, gotta love 'em.

We got more photos outside at the statue (feet included) before heading out for the day.

The biggest takeaway from this weekend, for me, is how much fans mean to Kyler. From Oklahoma to Arizona and beyond, his talent has created dedicated fans that love him, and he wants to do everything he can to let them know he cares about them.

The statue in Norman will be a permanent reminder of all he has accomplished, and it looks forward at what he will do next.