LOS ANGELES -- Kyler Murray won the prestigious Heisman Trophy Saturday, the highest honor in US college football going to a player who could yet be headed to a baseball career.

Murray threw for more than 4,000 yards and 40 touchdowns for the University of Oklahoma this season. He got the Heisman nod over fellow quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa of the University of Alabama and Dwayne Haskins of Ohio State.

Murray was a top recruit out of high school in Texas, but he struggled at Texas A&M before sitting out a year and transferring to Oklahoma.

Last year he served as back-up to Oklahoma's Heisman-winning quarterback Baker Mayfield.

This marks the first time since 1945-46 that different players from the same school won the award in back-to-back years.

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"This is crazy," the 21-year-old Murray said in accepting the award. "This is an honor. Something that I'll never forget, something I'll always cherish for the rest of my life."

Murray, who wasn't officially named Oklahoma's starting QB until August 22, led Oklahoma to a fourth straight Big 12 conference title and a berth in the College Football Playoff.

They'll face Tagovailoa's Alabama in the semi-finals on December 29.

Murray has another season of university eligibility remaining, and is considered a potential first-round selection in the NFL draft.

But he has said he is prepared to give up football in favor of baseball after the Oakland Athletics selected him ninth overall in this year's Major League Baseball draft. He signed a $4.6 million contract with the A's.

Asked this week about his sporting future, Murray said it had "already kind of been decided as of right now."

To suggestions that he could pursue a pro career in both football and baseball, Murray said he would "love to be able to do both if that was possible.

"I don't know how possible that is," he added.

© Agence France-Presse

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