Adrian Byran Murrell (born October 16, 1970) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

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in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in the fifth round of the

1993 NFL draft The 1993 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot M ...

after playing

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for the

West Virginia Mountaineers The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. The Mountaineers have been a membe ...

. Murrell played in the NFL for nine seasons from 1993 to 2000 and 2003.

Early life

Murrell attended Leilehua High School in

Wahiawa Wahiawā () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States, on the island of Oahu. It is in the Wahiawā District, on the plateau or "central valley" between the two volcanic mountains that bookend the island. In ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

College career

Murrell arrived at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

in 1990, when Michael Beasley started for the

Mountaineers Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

. The Mountaineers went 4-7 that season, with Murrell only seeing limited time. He only rushed for 48 yards on seven attempts that season. In his sophomore year, 1991, Murrell and the Mountaineers began to increase their product. The Mountaineers went 6-5 that season, while Murrell saw the starting role. He rushed for 904 yards and seven touchdowns on the year, with an added 100 receiving yards. In his final season as a Mountaineer, his junior year of 1992, Murrell produced the best season of his college career. While the Mountaineers sunk back, going 5–4–2, Murrell made national headlines. He rushed for 1,145 yards and six touchdowns, along with 244 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. Murrell is a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...

fraternity.

Professional career

New York Jets

Murrell left

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

after his junior season, and was selected in the fifth round of the

by the

. In his first two seasons as a Jet, Murrell rushed for a total of 317 yards and a touchdown. In

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, Murrell began to break out as a player. He rushed for 795 yards on the season, along with a touchdown. He also added 495 yards and two touchdowns receiving. The following year, 1996, Murrell posted his best performance of his professional career. He rushed for 1,249 yards (4th in AFC, 7th in NFL) and six touchdowns that season, along with a receiving touchdown. In

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, Murrell recorded 1,086 yards rushing with seven touchdowns and caught two receiving touchdowns.

Arizona Cardinals

Following the 1997 season, Murrell was traded to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

. Murrell gained 1,042 yards and eight touchdowns in 1998 playing in all 16 games. He went on to rush for 95 yards and catch 2 passes for 16 yards and a touchdown in the Cardinals 20-7 Wildcard playoff win over the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, a team that had beaten Arizona twice in the regular season. This was Arizona's first postseason win since 1947. In 1999, he only rushed for 553 yards, but caught 49 passes for 335 yards.

Washington Redskins

Following the

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

stint, Murrell arrived in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

with the Redskins for the 2000 season. But Murrell only saw limited action during the season, and recorded 50 rushing yards.

Carolina Panthers

Murrell was signed by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

in the 2001 offseason to serve in a backup role, but was cut before the season began to make room for Richard Huntley on the active roster.

Dallas Cowboys

After a two-year break from the NFL, Murrell returned in 2003 to play for the

. In Murrell's final professional season, he recorded 107 yards rushing.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Personal life

His younger brother,

Marques Murrell Marques Allen Murrell (born March 20, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Appalachian State Mountaineers and was signed by the P ...

, was a defensive end on the

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a Public university, public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a normal school, teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and th ...

football team. He signed a contract with the New York Jets on November 7, 2007. His father, a career soldier, was a Command Sergeants Major at the time of his draft. Stationed at Ft. Bragg. Married to Tonia Peck Murrell. They have three children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murrell, Adrian 1970 births Living people American football running backs Arizona Cardinals players Dallas Cowboys players New York Jets players Washington Redskins players West Virginia Mountaineers football players Players of American football from Fayetteville, North Carolina Players of American football from Honolulu County, Hawaii 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen