Here is all you need to know about Aaron Murray:
The day after the Auburn game, one of the most gut-wrenching losses in Georgia's seemingly snakebit season, the quarterback and team leader, the man with more passing yards than anyone in SEC history, didn’t sulk in his room or avoid the cameras or replay the miraculous tipped-pass touchdown that beat the Dawgs in the final seconds.
No, Murray spent that Sunday coaching and mentoring kids with special needs, helping them don football helmets and shoulder pads, teaching them rudimentary plays, cheering as they walked or ran across the goal line, and hugging them all with the most genuine of smiles.
This was not a p.r. stunt, not a photo-op designed to help his image or boost his NFL draft prospects. Murray has been doing this sort of thing for his entire college football career, without fanfare and with no expectation of anything in return.
One night a year for the last four years, he has donned a tuxedo and escorted special-needs young ladies to a formal ball called Big Hearts, part of the Extra Special People charity.
And just like the Sunday he spent with the kids after the Auburn game, he does far more than go through the motions. Murray has always been the most engaging host at the event, spending enough time with each of the kids to learn their names and some interesting facts about them.
And he always stays late to help volunteers clean up.
That is why Murray is one of the most beloved players in Georgia football history. He never won a championship, and before his final season, fielded mountains of criticism for his lack of victories in big games. But there was always something special about the young man from Tampa with the wide eyes and infectious smile.
Mark Richt said of his quarterback, "It's like having another coach on the field. I can't say enough good things about the kind of person Aaron is, the kind of leader that he is and what he means to this football team."
Murray has taken his last snap as a Bulldog, going down in the final minutes of the first half Saturday with a torn ACL (against Kentucky). It was one more disappointment in a career that could have left a lesser man bitter and cold.
There were the losses to LSU and Alabama in SEC Championship games, and last-minute heartbreaks against South Carolina and Clemson. There was the night Nick Fairley body-slammed Murray into the turf like a WWE wrestler, the depressing overtime loss to Michigan State in the Outback Bowl and the embarrassments against Colorado and UCF.
But there were also special victories — three wins over Florida, the shootout against LSU, beating Tennessee and Georgia Tech every year and finally pulling out the victory over South Carolina (back in September). Murray also led the Dawgs to a bowl win over Nebraska and was one tipped pass away from possibly playing for the BCS national championship against Notre Dame (last year).
When the final numbers were tallied, Murray had 13,166 yards and 121 touchdowns. He started 52 consecutive games, amassing a 35-17 record and setting records that aren't likely to be broken for many years.
But the wins and records are not why Murray is so universally adored amongst Dawg fans. If anything, the way he handled the losses, the criticism and the heartbreak did more to seal his place in Georgia history than any victory. He has always been approachable, kind, honest and earnest, the consummate competitor who never lost perspective on the fact that football is, at the end of the day, just a game.
When word reached Athens on Sunday that Murray would have surgery to repair his knee, ending his college career, he tweeted out a note that spoke volumes.
Thank you for all the prayers over the past few hours. Gonna come back stronger than ever! Dawg for life. Truly love you all. #GoDawgs.
They all love you too, Aaron. And it is not without good reason.
