Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray got his start right here in Central New York as a high school standout at Onondaga Central. His road to the NFL was recently detailed in a six-minute video titled “The Rewind” available on www.itstheshow.com.
The mini-doc is built around OCS retiring Murray’s No. 28, which took place in February. The pro-bowler’s mother, pop-warner director, high school coach, principal and teacher are all interviewed in the video.
In 2007 Murray was named the New York State Class D player of the year following his senior season at Onondaga Central. He rushed for 2,194 yards that year.
Despite attending Central Florida, Murray is a big SU fan. The video shows the running backs’ old bedroom with a Syracuse blanket on the foot of the bed. Murray watched Syracuse basketball topple Middle Tennessee State in the NCAA Tournament a few weeks ago. He told the Post Standard that he grew up rooting for SU and that he always tries to watch games when he can.
Hanging on to local talent
When Murray was running over CNY in 2007 at Onondaga Central, SU Football went 2-10. Receiving commitments from the region’s top players has been an issue for years at SU. Another example is Syracuse running backs’ coach Mike Hart. Just like Murray, Hart starred at OCS but then left the area to play collegiately at Michigan.
On National Signing Day Dino Babers stressed the importance of recruiting New York. Murray and Hart will always be a part of the Central New York community, but that bond would be even stronger if they had stayed home and played at SU.
It’s now up to Babers to get the next generations’ Murray’s and Hart’s to Syracuse. That would be quite the transformation.
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Posted: Connor Morrissette
