Dallas Cowboys Rookie Running Back DeMarco Murray in the Record Books: Fan Reaction

If you would have asked Cowboys running back Demarco Murray, in the pre-season, if he could see himself in the starting spot, as a rookie, his response would probably have been a chuckle. Third string was his spot for the season opener behind the likes of Felix Jones and Tashard Choice. As fait would have it, Jones was sidelined due to a high ankle sprain as the St. Louis Rams came to town.

In the Cowboys previous five games, Murray had only twenty-four carries totaling seventy-four yards. Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett must have seen something the average fan did not by giving Murray the starting nod in the sixth game of the season. I think it is safe to say, however, that Garrett did not foresee the events that took place right before his eyes. In Murray's first touch of the game, he gracefully carried the ball 91 yards for a touchdown. From that point on, he seemed virtually unstoppable. By the time the game ended, Murray accumulated 253 rushing yards on just twenty-five carries.

In his young career, not only did Murray set the bar high for himself, he also walked away with a couple of franchise records to add to his resume. The first feat he managed to break was the Cowboys rookie single-game rushing record previously set by Hall-of-Fame back Tony Dorsett back in 1977 when Dorsett ran for 206 yards against Philadelphia. Record number two comes in the form of breaking Hall-of-Fame and all-time rushing leader Emmitt Smith's 237 yards in 1993 against, non other than, the Philadelphia Eagles. The Rams also felt the record setting day giving them the dubious record of most rushing yards against in a single game.

Murray was a 3rd round draft pick by the Cowboys in the 2011 draft. Football records are not new to him as he holds a few from his alma matter Oklahoma Sooners. In his four years playing in a Sooners uniform from 2007-2010, he managed to walk away with:
All-Time Leader in Points Scored (390), Touchdowns (65), All Purpose Yards (6,718) and Receiving Yards for a Running Back (1,571)

Now that DeMarco Murray has put his own name on the map, keep on the lookout for a solid season, and more so, a solid career from number 29.