ARLINGTON – DeMarco Murray said he doesn't know much about Joseph Randle but he's excited to work with the player the Dallas Cowboys drafted to likely be the team's No. 2 back.
"He's definitely a quality running back, coming from Oklahoma State, they've always been known for great running backs," Murray said Wednesday before participating in a home run derby at Rangers Ballpark with eight of his teammates and Cowboys coach Jason Garrett. "I'm excited to bring him in the family and get after it a little bit and help him out as much as we can."
It was a little surprising to hear Murray praise Oklahoma State. Murray, who played at Oklahoma, and Dez Bryant, who played at OSU, occasionally talk a little trash to each other about the rivalry in the Valley Ranch locker room.
Is Murray going to take it easy on the rookie and not give him a hard time about attending a rival school?
"We'll push it to the side for now," Murray said. "But I'm sure once that game comes around we'll talk a little bit and hopefully we'll make a friendly wager, so we'll see what happens."
Randle, a fifth-round selection, is the front-runner for the spot behind Murray but he'll have competition from Lance Dunbar and Phillip Tanner, two backs who competed behind Murray and Felix Jones last season. With Jones out of the picture, the Cowboys have a lot of carries up for grabs.
"I'm excited for the new kid," Murray said. "I'm excited for Lance Dunbar and Phillip Tanner, two great running backs. Those guys have definitely worked hard and have definitely earned themselves a shot at playing time next year. So, I'm excited to see what Garrett and our offense does this year."
Murray, who has missed nine games over his first two seasons with the Cowboys because of injuries, added that he's not concerned with the number of carries he'll receive during the upcoming season. Murray says he's more focused on just getting on the field.
"Getting carries or catches doesn't matter to me," Murray said. "I just want to be on the field. I want to be on the field to help, whether I'm blocking, catching. Whatever I'm out there doing, just doing it at 100 percent and working hard."
