It was the only option Charlie Strong had when push came to shove.

Going after Murray was what Charlie Strong needed to do to have a high school quarterback on campus who could compete for the job right away.

Call it desperate, call it a gamble, but Strong knows his ultimate success or failure at Texas depends on the quarterback position. There's no question Kyler Murray would have helped Texas in 2015, which is exactly why Strong was right to go all-in this close to signing day and try and flip the Texas A&M commit.

The quarterback wasteland on the Forty Acres isn't a mess Strong is responsible for creating, but he's responsible for getting out of it. If it meant losing Zach Gentry, which happened when the former four-star commitment flipped to Michigan last weekend, then so be it.

Strong needed someone who could help him win next season. Now, we know it won't be Murray.

The five-star prospect solidified his commitment to Texas A&M on Thursday night following his in-home visit with Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin. The previously scheduled in-home visit with Strong on Friday is now off, and the Longhorns have to pick up the pieces and move forward.

In the aftermath of Texas shooting for perhaps the best high school football player the state has produced in a decade, there are a few things to to file away:

I don't think at any point Murray was a lock to flip to Texas

The in-home visits were always going to be the key element of this process. In the days following the Texas visit, the word coming from one source close to the situation was Murray visited Texas simply make sure A&M was the right choice. However, a different source said earlier this week the Longhorns felt like they'd made a ton of progress and it was looking promising to flip Murray. But as of Thursday evening, I don't believe a decision was made one way or the other.

At the end of the day, it was always going to come down to what happened during the in-home visits. Sumlin clearly answered everything the way he needed to and avoided a situation that perhaps might have gone down the way it did when Malik Jefferson committed to Texas. Sumlin didn't give Jefferson the right answers prior to his decision, but whatever he told Murray was what the quarterback needed to hear.

Gentry wasn't going to help in 2015

He's a tremendous prospect and someone the Longhorns most certainly coveted, but he's at least year or two away from being able to seriously contend for the starting job at a place like Texas (or even Michigan for that matter). Given the nature of the quarterback situation, Strong might not have three more years to see what Gentry could ultimately become.

Even if it meant losing Gentry, which happened, Strong made the right call to go after Murray.

Murray would have helped Texas in some capacity as a true freshman, and he would have been able to compete for the starting job with a chance to win it. Again, no matter how you feel if you're a Texas fan, making the move for Murray at the risk of losing Gentry was the right decision by Strong.

What options does Texas have left in the 2015 class at quarterback?

There are two: either land Kai Locksley and/or make the offer to Matthew Merrick to where he'll be a scholarship athlete on campus with the rest of the class this summer instead of a greyshirt. Getting Locksley would put Texas virtually in the same boat they're in with Gentry in terms of having an athletic quarterback with a nice upside as a passer who won't be ready as a true freshman to really do damage, but would be better served by a redshirt year to sit and watch.

The reality is, Murray was the only option the staff would had as any sort of a possibility to land a college-ready quarterback for the 2015 season. At least with Locksley and/or Merrick, there would be another scholarship body on campus and things would be just about the same as they were before the Murray situation escalated following his visit to campus.

What non-high school options are out there?

Since it's down to crunch time, Texas needs to seriously look at Blinn (JC) standout Jake Hubenak. He put up big numbers in high school and at junior college and with the Longhorns allegedly moving to an offense revolving around more spread concepts, Hubenak is likely the best option if the Longhorns want to go snag a guy to sign next week.

At this point, the Longhorns need options and it bares repeating that running Tyrone Swoopes out for the season opener against Notre Dame would do next to nothing to inspire the fan base. If the staff doesn't believe Jerrod Heard is ready, adding Hubenak is better than adding nothing if it comes to that point for Shawn Watson and the offensive staff.

What graduate transfer options are available?

This is why Hubenak might be a legitimate option for Texas. Braxton Miller's latest words suggest he's leaning toward staying at Ohio State and Kevin Hogan is staying at Stanford. So unless Everett Golson decides to leave Notre Dame, the Longhorns are going to miss out on the free agent graduate transfers who have already been rumored to be available.

Texas could always bring Connor Brewer back into the mix, and the word is he'd definitely be interested in a return if the staff will have him back. If the staff doesn't go for Hubenak, they could wait until the summer to see which graduate transfers become available.

With limited options, Texas might be best served by doing whatever it takes to get Heard ready.

What's the worst-case scenario?

It's the winner of a spring and summer battle between Swoopes and Heard as to who the starting quarterback will be in South Bend on Sept. 5. If Heard is the guy, the Longhorns will have no choice but to tweak the offense to implement more quarterback run game elements and simple route concepts to make the game easier for Heard when he plays early on.

The staff isn't down on Heard, and he's not viewed as a lost cause. He simply had a tough time getting acclimated to what has been said to be a complex playbook of reads compared to what he had to deal with in high school.

At this point, the Longhorns might have no other choice but do whatever is necessary to get Heard ready to roll. Barring something unforeseen at this point, he looks like the best option.