Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray gave some serious thought to leaving Georgia after his junior season to declare early for the NFL draft. And although the reason Murray opted to stay -- to win a national championship -- is no longer a possibility, the Bulldogs' senior said he doesn't regret the choice he made.
"Obviously I came back to try and give ourselves a shot to win a championship. It didn't happen. So what?," Murray said, according to redandblack.com. "Let's move on. Let's continue working hard and having fun."
NFL Media draft analyst Gil Brandt rates Murray the No. 17 senior prospect in the nation for the 2014 NFL Draft.
Georgia (4-3, 3-2 SEC) still has a shot at a Southeastern Conference title, albeit a slim one. A win over rival Florida Saturday would be a prerequisite, but beyond that, the Bulldogs would need to win two more SEC games against Auburn and Kentucky, and hope that division-leading Missouri loses twice more in league play.
That's a lot of ifs.
But Georgia coach Mark Richt said Murray remains as focused as ever.
"On Friday morning, I'm in the office, and I see him and Faton (Bauta) out there doing footwork and drill work. I went over the rail and told them to get out of here and relax, but he said that there are no days off," Richt said. "That's how he is. He's wired that way. Every single day, he wants to try to find a way to get better. He's not feeling sorry for himself, or anything like that. I think he's still very happy that he's here with us, and he wants to finish strong."
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter *@ChaseGoodbread.*