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As Oklahoma makes the transition from the Big 12 to the SEC this year, one of its coaches has landed in hot water.
The NCAA announced on Tuesday that Sooners running backs coach DeMarco Murray has received a one-game suspension for recruiting violations.
The NCAA stated that Murray “impermissibly contacted prospects and their families prior to the permissible time period, according to an agreement released by the Division I Committee on Infractions.” It was determined that he made 65 impermissible phone calls and 36 impermissible text messages to 17 prospects over a 16-month span.
Murray had claimed that he “was not aware that a COVID-19 waiver of recruiting contact rules had expired,” but over the course of the NCAA’s investigation, “the enforcement staff determined that the school had properly educated football coaches on the applicable recruiting rules and the timing of changes to them.”
While it was agreed that Sooners head coach Brent Venables violated head coach responsibility rules in regard to the actions of his staff, he wasn’t personally involved in the violations and proved that he promoted an atmosphere of compliance. Therefore, “the parties also agreed that a suspension penalty for Venables was not appropriate.”
Murray, who was a two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection during his playing days at Oklahoma from 2006 to 2010, joined the Sooners coaching staff in 2020 after spending one year as running backs coach at Arizona under Kevin Sumlin.
Oklahoma will open the 2024 season on Friday at home in a primetime matchup against Temple.