Riley: NFL teams 'glowing' after interviewing Murray

Oklahoma football coach Lincoln Riley refuted comments that his former quarterback, potential top draft pick Kyler Murray, interviewed poorly at the recently completed NFL Scouting Combine. "I know Kyler met with a lot of different teams at the combine, and I have personally spoken with the majority of the teams he met with," Riley said Wednesday on the Dan Patrick Show. "And every one of them were glowing in their reports about Kyler, basically the complete opposite of what Charley threw out there."

That would be former NFL general manager Charley Casserly, who said Tuesday he had heard negative reviews from teams who met with Murray, the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner. "These were the worst comments I ever got on a top-rated quarterback, and I've been doing this a long time," Casserly said on NFL Network. "Leadership -- not good. Study habits -- not good. The board work -- below not good. Not good at all in any of those areas, raising major concerns about what this guy is going to do."

Casserly said he spoke with "more than two teams" but would not provide an exact number. He also said he heard Murray was poorly prepared for his interviews. "I just hate that people go out and make these comments and (they) haven't talked to the two people who've actually coached this kid," Riley said. "You went on what one team said. Which is probably a smokescreen. Kyler was a tremendous leader for us.

"... all he cares about is winning. I think our team took on his personality." Murray's agent Erik Burkhardt echoed Riley's defense and issued a pointed attack on Casserly.

"Look, If you don't like Kyler's game, it's cool," Burkhardt told Pro Football Talk. "If you don't like his size and want to talk about that, that's fine, too. If you're into a Heath Shuler-type looking guy, then hype those guys and say why. "But when you slander the character and work ethic of a young man who's worked his (tail) off his entire life and done everything right to put himself in his current position, you'd better cite your sources and come with a better record than 18-46 as a GM of the Texans, and whose own leadership and accountability has been questioned by his old bosses and colleagues, as well as the greatest coach on the planet."

The "greatest coach" comment was in reference to Bill Belichick, who was publicly critical of Casserly in 2010. Shuler was a 6-foot-2 quarterback whom Casserly and the Redskins took third overall in the 1994 draft, who went on to play in just 29 NFL games. Murray did not participate in drills at the combine but reportedly met with 10 teams in Indianapolis, including the team with the No. 1 overall pick, the Arizona Cardinals. The draft begins April 25.

There are likely to be smokescreens and waves of misinformation before then, and Murray -- with concerns about his size (5-10 1/8, 207 pounds) -- is likely to be a polarizing prospect. Still, many around the league believe the Cardinals are enamored with Murray's skills and could be shopping 2018 first-round quarterback Josh Rosen to make room. ESPN reported later Wednesday that the Cardinals have not shopped Rosen to this point, despite interest expressed from multiple teams at last week's combine.

--Field Level Media

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)