He nets 103 yards on four carries in spring game, but isn't satisfied

Even though he won't acknowledge it.

Asked if he accomplished what he wanted this spring, the redshirt freshman tailback said: "No. A couple times on those long runs, I actually got caught. I don't feel too good about that."

Well, darn Marcus Walker for keeping Murray out of the end zone at the end of that 68-yard sprint Saturday. And credit Nic Harris for catching Murray after that 25-yard burst down the sideline at the previous Saturday's scrimmage.

"I wish I would have broken them all," Murray groaned. "Just got to keep working on my speed."

Don't expect anyone else to nitpick.

"He's a talented guy that really has a knack for making plays," OU coach Bob Stoops said Saturday. "He's a great worker. He has a great attitude . . . We're excited about him. He's going to give us a big boost."

That has been obvious since March 14, the night Murray gained 129 yards and scored twice in his first OU scrimmage. March 31, he rushed for 132 yards and scored again.

Saturday, he put some swirl in the Sooners' otherwise vanilla offense with the 68-yard breakaway, and an 18-yard score in which he ran left, followed the downfield blocks of wide receivers Manuel Johnson and Brandon Caleb, and cut by safety Dominique Franks at the 5.

"Oh man, outstanding," said senior tailback Allen Patrick, who, presumably, remains OU's starter. "You've seen some flashy runs out here from DeMarco Murray."

Some fiery runs, too.

"To be an athletic guy and a fast guy, he's played with a nice physical presence," offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said. "He's played a lot more physical this spring than most people would have anticipated."

Murray banged away during his two so-called ordinary runs Saturday, a 11-yarder out of the I-formation, and a 6-yarder without the benefit of a lead blocker, or any kind of hole at the line of scrimmage for that matter.

"I'm just trying to prove I can run hard," Murray said.

He's doing much more than that. He's proving it's going to be very difficult, even with Patrick, Chris Brown and fellow redshirt freshman Mossis Madu lurking at the position, to keep him off the field come the 2007 season.

"He's going to help us out next year," Patrick said. "He's still a little young, but you can tell he's growing. As spring ball moved along, he grew a lot."

Guerin Emig 581-8355
guerin.emig@tulsaworld.com