Follow The Money | July 22, 2026 | Hour 3

**Wes Reynolds** (0:03)
That's what I was saying, you always follow the money.

**Pauly Howard** (0:11)
Great to talk football, SEC media days roll on, and the quarterback play is fantastic in the SEC. And who's going to win it?
And who can make a deep run? And who's got the best quarterback in the conference? No one better than Aaron Murray to break it all down. SeriousXM radio host at Aaron Murray 11 on X, star at Georgia, joins us now on the Progressive Guestline. Thanks for a few minutes, my friend. And to speak to how deep this conference is and the list, you have Mateer at number five. And he was unbelievable in the Heisman discussion until he got hurt.

**Aaron Murray** (0:45)
I know. I know. Listen, it is a very talented group. And I think Mateer, if he can get back to playing like he did, like he eluded to before that Texas game, before really that injury to his throwing hand, he needs an opportunity to, you know, once again, be in that conversation throughout the year of going to New York, of leaving Oklahoma, you know, possibly to Atlanta, leaving Oklahoma to the playoffs. Because, you know, Venables is going to have the defense, right? I know that Oklahoma lost some guys out front on that defense, but Venables is still one of the best minds in the game. They've been able to recruit well, both sides of the football for quite some time.
So I think from the tier, it's just getting back to just letting it rip, man. I think that's the biggest thing in my message that anyone I sat down with talked to him in Tampa this past week during ICT media days is, you know, just playing free and playing not afraid to make mistakes. I think there are so many people out there during the first few weeks, like, oh, he's playing great. He looks like a Heisen trophy candidate, but, but he puts the ballman into harm's way. But, you know, he's a little, he's a little risky at times. And, you know, I think all great quarterbacks have that mentality of kind of toeing the line of, you know, willing to take those chances, understanding when to, you know, the right calculated move based on coverage and obviously film study. So, you know, you can't be afraid to go out there and then, like I said, be himself, kind of that, that Brett Fogg mentality. And I think he does that with, with, you know, for all Oklahoma fans that hopefully will prove one game that doesn't all focus with him running the football, but actually the running back, trying to football, I think Oklahoma could have an emotional season.

**Pauly Howard** (2:15)
Absolutely. All we've heard all week is we're going to see a different Arch Manning and we're not talking about the mechanics and what he brings to the table. Can you elaborate on how important it is with leadership and what they expect out of the quarterback and the star leadership wise at that position?
Yeah.

**Aaron Murray** (2:35)
I mean, listen, I was lucky enough to play four years in the FTC at Georgia.
Leadership was something that was earned and something that developed during my time.
I think during your first year as a starting quarterback, you're just man your head spinning. You're trying to figure out how to schedule your week. Obviously, these guys don't have even more responsibilities now because of the NIL world, but you're trying to get your class schedule. You're trying to figure out when can I watch film? When can I do rehab? When can I do all the little things to meet with the offensive line a little bit extra, the receivers a little bit extra? So you are building your routine, your identity both on and off the field. So when you had that knock-in, you go back and say, okay, this is what worked for me in my first year. This is where I can improve both on the field and off the field. So things slow down on the field, but not only it talks about things falling down off the field. I think that's just as important for a quarterback, is things off the field become easier, dealing with the media becomes easier, dealing with expectations become easier, which allows you to really grow into a leader. So I do think for ours and all these secondary quarterbacks where it's their time to really take advantage of knowing the offense, playing in the offense, seeing certain plays in certain coverages, being a little bit more savvy there, but also how to handle themselves as almost essentially a professional quarterback. I mean, these guys are making, you know, 16 SECs and we're from $2 to $5 million. That's a lot of pressure, a lot of expectations. So I think once you hopefully get through a year of that, you can kind of settle in and be the leader, like I said, both on and off the field. You need to be to help your team.