Q&A With ESPN's Aaron Murray: Georgia vs. Ohio State, SEC Expansion, Stetson Bennett & More

After a record-setting stint at the University of Georgia and stops in the NFL, AAF and XFL, Aaron Murray turned his attention full-time to a career in television.

Murray, who is the SEC's all-time leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns, had started workig for CBS back in 2017 when he was still playing. This past summer, he was hired by ESPN as a college football analyst.

We caught up with Murray recently before the biggest weekend of the college football season, the College Football Playoff, which will take place Saturday. Murray's alma mater Georgia will be facing Ohio State in one semifinal.

We chatted with Murray for his thoughts on that game, some charity work he's been doing, where the SEC could look to expand next and much more.

Let's get started...

The Spun: You've been involved in a partnership with Twisted Tea, and it's connected with your alma mater as well. Would you mind telling us a little bit about that?

Aaron Murray: I got introduced to tea in general a little bit when I decided to come to the University of Georgia. It's always a favorite gameday drink, and now that you can throw a little alcohol in it, get a little twisted with that five percent, it's definitely a favorite for me come Saturdays. It's a great partnership. The big thing is, they have limited edition UGA packs for the best fans in the country all over the state of Georgia.

The Spun: Another partnership you are involved in is with Children's Healthcare of Atlanta in the fight against childhood cancer. How long have you been involved with that?

AM: I am actually on the board of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. This is my second year on the board there. Last year, when the Braves won the World Series, they did something with signed baseballs, to sell them and have all the proceeds go back to Children's. We were at a board meeting and I said 'Why don't we do the same thing for Georgia football?'. People love Georgia football. It's the team in the state. Obviously, they're making an incredible run right now. So I got some balls signed by current and former athletes there and Kirby [Smart] too and then we went out and sold them. I think last year we raised $850,000 and the great thing is the Peach Bowl will match everything that we bring in. It's a great partnership with them.

The Spun: Speaking of the Peach Bowl, you recently made a comment about Stetson Bennett and said he has established himself as the GOAT quarterback in Georgia football history. What were the reactions that you got to that comment and how improbable it is for Stetson to be in this position given his backstory. 

AM: The reactions were basically two things. One, people were like 'No, you're the GOAT.' And then the other was people saying, 'No, it's Matthew Stafford. He's the greatest.' There's a couple of things with that. Maybe I had the stats and that's great, but we were brought into Georgia to win championships. That's what we all want to do. Yes, I love throwing touchdowns and my job is to throw touchdowns but my job first and foremost is to win football games. It's to go out there and win championships. That's how I judge quarterbacks.

When I was responding to people about Stafford, my statement wasn't 'Who is the most talented quarterback in Georgia history?' We all know Stafford is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the world. He is by far the most talented quarterback that has ever come through Georgia. But that's not the comment. Stetson has done more at Georgia than any of us, and honestly, he's done it in probably the hardest way of any of us...He's gone through a lot, and during that time he's won a national championship, MVP of that game, won an SEC championship, MVP of that game and right now has a good chance to win another national championship.

We are brought in to win championships. I would trade every touchdown that I have and every record I have in the SEC in order to win a national championship. That's what I base great quarterbacks off of.

The Spun: Speaking of championships, what is your prediction for this year's College Football Playoff? When you look at Ohio State in the semifinal matchup, what should concern you the most if you're Georgia?

AM: Well, just throw the football. I think what we've seen from Georgia the past couple of years is, at times, the inability to stop the vertical passing game. We saw it last year against 'Bama in the SEC Championship Game. We saw it a little bit in the national championship before their top receiver got hurt. We saw it vs. LSU the other week and honestly, Tennessee, Hendon [Hooker] missed a couple of shots down the field. Who knows what would have happened if he hits those ones he usually hits? 

I think Georgia, their defense is elite. It's one of the best defenses in the country. I would put my money on them to stop an offense from scoring a touchdown if they said, 'We're going to force you to drive the ball for 10, 15 plays and be able to execute in the red zone.' I think Georgia would dominate that type of game; they've proven they are a great defense and a great red zone defense. But, if you can take some shots on them and execute down the field, that's why I'm a little worried about the matchup. I do like the fact they've had three or four weeks to get ready for it mentally and physically. I do like what they have on the back end, from [Kamari] Lassiter to Kelee [Ringo] to Chris Smith, who I think is an absolute stud, to Malaki Starks. But C.J. Stroud is a beast, Marvin Harrison Jr. is a beast. They've got some other weapons as well.

If I'm Ohio State, I'm emptying the playbook. I think their mentality has to be 'We have to score 40 or 50 points or we lose by 30. Because if we play conservatively, we're not going to win.' 

The Spun: Looking back on your career in the SEC, what was the toughest place for you to go into and play and why?

AM: I would say Neyland Stadium. Tennessee was pretty good when I was in school, especially on the offensive side of the ball. That place, any time you get 100,000-plus fans in a stadium, it's going to be a tough place to play. There and South Carolina. Carolina was a grind. They were really good then too. They had some great guys on both sides of the football. When "Sandstorm" is rolling, it's really fun. I'd say it's more fun than playing at Tennessee, but it's also so dang loud and hard to communicate. 

The Spun: You had the opportunity to play in the XFL in 2020 before the league shut down due to COVID-19. What was that experience like? Do you think an alternate spring football league can succeed long-term?

AM: I think the XFL was great when I was in there. I thought we were rolling. I thought the people were enjoying it. I thought the quality of the TV production, the quality of the coaches, the towns and cities they picked, everything was really, really good. The way they treated us, the facilities they provided for us, all of that was I thought excellent. Obviously, COVID shut that down and knocked the legs out from underneath it. But I thought it was being executed at a high level. I think it can succeed. I think with what The Rock is doing, with people wanting to consume live sports more than ever, with people in a lot of states wanting to gamble on live sports as well, I think they're going to get a lot of eyeballs in the spring as they continue to hopefully build that thing up.

The Spun: Last question. One of the biggest SEC storylines of late is the expansion of conference with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma. If the league isn't done expanding, what programs do you think would be natural or interesting fits in the SEC?

AM: With their contracts and grant of rights in the ACC, it doesn't look like they'd be able to get out of them, but I would love to see a Clemson, an NC State, a Miami. I think those schools would fit really well in the SEC footprint. I think the Big 12 has done a good job. You can't really replace Texas and Oklahoma. But they've done a pretty good job of adding some pretty good schools, Cincinnati and UCF and Houston and what not. 

I don't know if you go to the Big 12 [again]. I don't think they need to. I know the Big Ten may look to add a couple of more. Maybe add Oregon and Washington and make themselves the biggest conference in America. I just think when I talk to [SEC Commissioner Greg] Sankey and see things he says, I think they're in a spot right now where they feel they already have the best universities and sports. We've seen this conference grow. Obviously, football is dominant, but basketball has been really good of late. Gymnastics is great, baseball continues to win championships, golf is phenomenal. It's just a really, really good conference that I don't think is in need of pushing a limit if they don't feel like it fits them. Like I said, I think what fits them is the schools in the ACC, and until those contracts get figured out, I don't think they're going to push it.

You can read more of our interviews with athletes and media stars here.