‘I should have been here the whole time’: Kyler Murray honored during incredible spring game atmosphere

The Oklahoma Sooners put on a show in front of 54,409 fans and Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray creating an electric spring game.

It wasn’t the 70,000-plus that turned out in Brent Venables’ first spring game, but on a cool windy day in Norman, 54,409 members of Sooner Nation showed out and showed their support for the 2023 version of the Oklahoma Sooners.

Despite an unorthodox scoring system, those in attendance were treated to big plays on both sides of the ball and big moments from some of Oklahoma’s newest arrivals.

It was a special atmosphere inside Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium for the spring game and to honor 2018 Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray.

Murray, who spoke briefly to those in attendance, talked about the memories made in Norman and said, “I chose the wrong school. I should have been here the whole time.”

Murray’s time in Norman was short but sweet, but he made an indelible impact during his tenure at the University of Oklahoma. The human highlight reel put together arguably the greatest quarterback season at the University of Oklahoma of all-time. He threw for 4,361 yards and 42 touchdowns and ran for another 1,001 yards and 12 scores on the ground to win the Heisman.

Kyler Murray is now enshrined forever in Heisman Park.

Oklahoma’s spring game featured a pair of quarterbacks that will have a chance to create their own Heisman moment in the coming years. Dillon Gabriel may be a long shot, but if Oklahoma’s offense is as good as many think it will be and the defense shows improvement, Gabriel will be on the short list come November.

And then there’s Jackson Arnold. The five-star quarterback prospect coming to Norman with high expectations. It was an up-and-down performance for the true freshman, but he put together a strong drive at the end to help put the offense in a position to win the game. Unfortunately, the game-winning two-point conversion went in and out of the hands of Jayden Gibson, but otherwise, it was a strong performance.

We’ll have further takeaways from the Sooners’ spring game, but here’s a look at some of the best photos from Saturday’s festivities.