Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray says he is "way, way ahead of schedule" in his rehabilitation from ACL surgery and remains on track to throw at the Bulldogs' pro day on April 16.
Murray suffered a torn ACL in his left knee Nov. 23 and had surgery Nov. 26. Last week, he tweeted out a picture of himself throwing, and Friday he told College Football 24/7 that "doctors are extremely impressed" with the rate of his rehab.
Murray said he has been working on his three-, five- and seven-step drops and already is doing some leg presses and jumps just 11 weeks after the reconstructive surgery.
He will head to the NFL Scouting Combine next week; he won't do any of the drills but will undergo medical tests and do the requisite meet-and-greet sessions with NFL teams. He also attended the Reese's Senior Bowl, where he met with teams in an effort "to get the process rolling."
He said that in his meetings there, he was able to explain to team officials about how Georgia's offense worked and explain his understanding of various defenses.
Murray, a four-year starter for the Bulldogs, holds SEC career records for passing yards (13,166) and TD passes (121), but his lack of size -- he measured 6-foot and 201 pounds at the Senior Bowl weigh-in -- bothers some scouts.
He said Friday that recent NFL success for shorter quarterbacks, mentioning Russell Wilson and Drew Brees, has shown that you "don't need to be 6-4 or 6-5 to win in the NFL."
Murray also said that he doesn't limit his NFL film study to the shorter quarterbacks. He said he also looks at tape of Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, among others, to get a feel for a number of things, including "seeing how they maneuver around in the pocket."
Murray has been readying for the draft at the EXOS facility in Gulf Breeze, Fla., along with players such as South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, LSU safety wide receiver Jarvis Landry and North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron.
Murray played against Clowney for three years in the SEC and admits, "It's a lot nicer to hang out with him rather than having him trying to take my head off."
Murray, Clowney and Ebron are featured in an eight-part web series about getting ready for the combine and the draft produced by the NFL, NFL.com and NFL Films. The "Pressure Points" series is sponsored by Gillette Deodorant and is available at www.nfl.com/pressurepoints. Fans can submit combine- and draft-related questions to the players at @Gillette on Twitter, and they will answer some questions in videos that will be posted on Gillette's YouTube channel and on social media.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
