Latavius Murray

Early years

Born in Titusville, Florida, Murray attended Onondaga Central High School in Onondaga, New York, where he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and track. In football, Murray was All-league and All-Central New York selection in three straight seasons. In his sophomore year, he was third-team All-state honoree following a 1,609-yard, 14-touchdown season. He garnered first-team All-state honors as a junior, rushing for 2,030 yards and 30 touchdowns. In his final year, he was named the 2007 Gatorade Football Player of the Year in the state of New York after rushing for 2,194 yards with 28 touchdowns on offense, while also recording 78 tackles, three forced fumbles and two interceptions on defense. He also was named as the Class D Player of the Year and First-Team All-State by the NYSSWA.

Regarded as a three-star recruit, Murray was ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the state of Florida by Rivals.com, No. 6 according to Scout.com. He chose UCF over scholarship offers from Boston College, Maryland, and Syracuse, among others.

College career

Murray played his college ball at the University of Central Florida. Murray tore his ACL during the offseason after his freshman year while playing basketball. In his redshirt sophomore season, he was named Conference USA Championship MVP and also was named AutoZone Liberty Bowl MVP for his performance against Georgia in which he rushed for 104 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown. Following the conclusion of his junior season, he was selected as the team's MVP and offensive player of the year. In his senior season, he was an All-C-USA First Team selection and was named to Phil Steele's All-C-USA First Team. He was named to the College Football Performance Awards All-Purpose Trophy Watch List and also was selected to the College Football Performance Awards Special Teams Watch List. He was named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List. He finished his college career with a total of 2,424 rushing yards, 37 rushing touchdowns, 50 receptions, 524 receiving yards and 6 receiving touchdowns.

Professional career

Murray was regarded as a sixth to seventh round selection according to CBSSports.com.

Murray was not invited to the NFL Combine, but garnered much attention with an impressive performance at Central Florida's Pro Day. Murray weighed in at 6-foot-2 5/8 and 223 pounds, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.4 and 4.38 seconds, registered a 10-foot-4 broad jump and a 36-inch vertical jump, ran 4.36 seconds in the short shuttle and 6.81 seconds in the 3-cone.

Oakland Raiders

Murray was selected by the Oakland Raiders with the 181st overall pick in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

2013 season

The Oakland Raiders signed Murray to a four-year, $2.26 million contract on June 6, 2013. It also included $106,200 guaranteed and a signing bonus of $106,200.

On August 27, 2013, before the start of the regular season, Murray was placed on injured reserve, ending his rookie season.

2014 season

After being third on the depth chart for the first half of the season behind veterans Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew, the Raiders turned to Murray in Week 11 to provide a spark after ineffectiveness by McFadden and Jones-Drew all year. He responded by totaling 59 yards on 7 touches against the San Diego Chargers. On November 20, 2014, he finished with 4 carries for 112 rushing yards and 2 rushing touchdowns, marking his first career touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs. It also marked the first rushing touchdown the Chiefs defense allowed all season and his 90-yard touchdown marked the longest rush for the Raiders that year. The solid performance by Murray contributed to the Raiders' first victory of the 2014 season. After having success on his first three attempts, he suffered a concussion on his fourth carry and was taken out of the game.

He returned to play against the San Francisco 49ers in week 14 and finished the game with 23 carries for 76 rushing yards. The next week, he earned his first career start against the Chiefs and had 12 rushing attempts for 59 yards. In week 16, he gained 86 yards on 16 carries and had his second consecutive start against the Buffalo Bills. He remained the starting running back for the last three games of the season and finished his first year with 82 carries, 424 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns in 15 games.

2015 season

Murray entered the season as the Raiders' number one tailback and was expected by the Raiders to receive the majority of the carries after the retirement of Maurice Jones-Drew and the departure of Darren McFadden. As expected, he began the season as the Raiders' starting running back and had 11 attempts for 44 yards in the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. In a week 3 contest, Murray finished the game with a career-high 139 yards on 26 carries and added a touchdown in a win over the Cleveland Browns.

On December 24, 2015, Murray became the first Raider to reach the 1,000-yard mark rushing, since Darren McFadden in 2010. His performance of 79 yards on 19 carries, 38 yards on 5 receptions and a rushing touchdown, helped edge a victory over the San Diego Chargers with a final score of 23–20 on a Thursday night in overtime.

2016 season

Murray finished the regular season playing in 14 games and rushing for 788 yards and a career-high 12 rushing touchdowns. Murray’s pass protecting ability was rated third best in the NFL among running backs.

Minnesota Vikings

On March 16, 2017, Murray signed a three-year contract with the Minnesota Vikings. In his opening statement to Vikings fans, Murray stated on his Instagram account: "There wasn't a thought in my mind to try and wear or ask for the No. 28. I have too much respect for Adrian Peterson and so much respect for what he's done and what he means to this organization." During his first press conference as a Viking, Murray announced that he would be wearing No. 25 in honor of his best friend, who had died in 2016. On March 22, 2017, it was revealed Murray underwent ankle surgery.