Latavius Murray

Latavius Rashard Murray (born January 18, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCF Knights and was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL draft, with whom he earned Pro Bowl honors in 2015. Murray also played for the Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, and Buffalo Bills.

Murray was born in Titusville, Florida, and 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 a three-time All-league and All-Central New York selection. As a sophomore, he was a third-team All-state honoree following a 1,609-yard, 14-touchdown season. Murray was first-team as a junior, rushing for 2,030 yards and 30 touchdowns. He was first-team again as a senior and was named the 2007 Gatorade Football Player of the Year in the state of New York, rushing for 2,194 yards with 28 touchdowns on offense, while also recording 78 tackles, three forced fumbles and two interceptions on defense. Murray 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 New York by Rivals.com, No. 6 according to Scout.com. He chose UCF over scholarship offers from Boston College, Maryland, and Syracuse, among others.

Murray played college football at the University of Central Florida.

Murray made his collegiate debut against South Carolina State and rushed for 43 yards and two touchdowns. As a freshman, he finished with 46 carries for 132 yards and three touchdowns. Murray tore his ACL during the offseason after his freshman year while playing basketball.

After redshirting in 2009, Murray returned to the Knights' backfield in 2010. On November 20 against Tulane, he had his best game of the season, rushing for 146 yards and a touchdown. Two weeks later against SMU, he finished with 94 rushing yards and 21 receiving yards and first collegiate receiving touchdown. In his redshirt sophomore season, Murray 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. Murray finished the 2010 season with 111 carries for 637 yards and 11 touchdowns to go along with five receptions for 47 yards and a touchdown.

Murray started his junior season rushing for 36 yards and two touchdowns against Charleston Southern. In the next game against Boston College, Murray had 72 rushing yards and a touchdown. He was mostly held in check up to the end of the regular season. On November 19 against East Carolina, Murray had 87 rushing yards and a touchdown. In the last game of the season against UTEP, he had a season-high 233 rushing yards with two rushing touchdowns. Following the end of the season, Murray was selected as the team's MVP and offensive player of the year.

As a senior, Murray 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 was also selected to the College Football Performance Awards Special Teams Watch List. Murray was named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List. On August 30, 2012, he started the season with 108 rushing yards and a touchdown against Akron. On October 20, he started a four-game stretch where he recorded 192 yards and two touchdowns, 156 yards and three touchdowns, 155 yards and two touchdowns, and 117 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in those games. Murray finished the season with 198 carries for 1,106 yards and 15 touchdowns to go along with 27 receptions for 231 yards and four touchdowns.