MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – In Kyler Murray’s first year as a full-time starting quarterback, he completed nearly 71 percent of his passes, threw 40 touchdown passes and won the Heisman Trophy. He also asserted himself as perhaps the most intriguing character in the sport, as his potential decision between the NFL draft and fulfilling his contract with the Oakland Athletics looms large over the sports landscape.

Murray signed a $4.66 million contract with the A’s after getting drafted No. 9 overall in the Major League Baseball draft this summer. Both he and his agent insist that his current plan is to join the A’s immediately after this football season ends, as the organization was gracious enough to allow him a one-season football experiment as a gesture of good faith.

But as No. 4 Oklahoma marched to a Big 12 championship and braces to play No. 1 Alabama in the College Football Playoff on Saturday, there’s an increasing feeling in NFL circles that Murray may attempt to be the next Baker Mayfield before he tries to be the next Mookie Betts. At 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, his size would make him an anomaly at the quarterback position in the NFL. But it’s hard to ignore the production, arm talent or evolving NFL schemes that cater to his skill set.

The ambiguity surrounding Murray’s future may best be summed up by this cryptic quote from Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley on Thursday.

“I don’t know,” he said when asked about what is star quarterback will do next. “I don’t know. I can see it going either way, honestly. I just want him to do what makes him happy.”

Somewhere around midseason, officials at Oklahoma told NFL scouts to be sure to evaluate Murray as they went through. The scouts all knew he’d signed his lucrative deal with the A’s, but that was the first tangible sign the door for football remained open. And he certainly hasn’t shut it, as his open-ended comments at Orange Bowl media day indicated.

“It’s never bad to have options,” he said, adding later, “I’ve always felt like I can play in the NFL.”

He summed up his precipitous football rise and resulting conundrum this way: “Nobody expected it. So now it’s kind of like, what do you do?”

View photos Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray and the Sooners face the vaunted Crimson Tide in the Orange Bowl on Saturday. (AP) More

Declaring for the NFL draft comes with complications. He’d have to pay back his hefty baseball bonus, and declaring for the draft would essentially end this initial foray into baseball, as it’s the understanding of NFL front offices that he’d have to choose one or the other in the near future and can’t straddle both because of his signed deal with the A’s.

Scouts in both sports told Yahoo Sports that many signs point away from baseball.

“I think he’s going to play football,” said an NFL scout who goes through Oklahoma. “I think he wants to play football. If it’s equal or he liked baseball better, why would he have played this year? I truly think he loves playing football.”

Baseball scouts are generally skeptical he’ll stick with the sport because the allure of being a star quarterback potentially outweighs their perception of his desire for baseball.

“I love him,” an MLB scout told Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. “He can be a star. Plus speed, good raw power, legitimate center fielder. But he’s so far behind the curve because of football, it’s going to take longer for him to develop. And I really wonder if the football bug is too strong for him to say no.”

The football projections contrast strongly with the sentiments of his baseball agent, Scott Boras, who told Passan on Thursday: “He’s very loyal to the A’s for allowing him to achieve this in college and give him the guarantee of $5 million. That is something that was very important to Kyler and his family. He has every intention of playing baseball. He’s going to be at spring training with the Oakland A’s on Feb. 10.”

Story continues