STEUBENVILLE - Najee Murray made it official Wednesday morning, becoming a member of the Ohio State University football team.
"This is a dream come true," he said. "Without a doubt it is. Ohio State has been my dream since I started growing up and maturing.
"I've been anxious for this day. Now I can officially say I'm a Buckeye."
Murray made a verbal commitment to interim head coach Luke Fickell in June, but was continually recruited by other schools.
"I just ignored them," he said with a laugh. "I stayed committed and stayed true to the Buckeyes."
He was recently visited by defensive coordinator Fickell, defensive line coach Mike Vrabel and assistant head coach Everett Withers.
"It was a nice time with the coaches. I enjoyed talking with them," said Murray, who is undecided on a major.
Murray met with and sat down and talked with new Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer during his official visit.
"He's a great coach. He reminds me a lot of coach Sac - aggressive," Murray said, comparing Meyer to Big Red football coach Reno Saccoccia.
"I loved playing for coach Sac. He's a nice guy to be around. Outside of coaching, he's a great coach just to hang with. He's a great motivator."
Although Murray's statistics are not huge, what he brings to the table as a safety and shutdown cornerback is hard to measure in numbers.
Murray finished with 54 tackles on a team that surrendered 9.1 points a game during its 10-0 regular season. He also finished with 17 catches for 280 yards and four touchdowns and 11 carries for 185 yards and a score.
"I'm happy for him, as is the whole team and the coaching staff," said Saccoccia. "We're happy for his family. He comes from a great family. Ohio State is getting a top-notch football player.
"He's always been a hard worker for us, always very coachable and always a good player. He just took himself to the next level in the last year and during this season. He played outstanding football, smart football and did the little things for us.
"I think that's what made him - he did all the little things and he did them perfectly. He always played team football."
Murray recently was upgraded from a three-star recruit to a four-start recruit.
"I don't really look into star ratings, but it was nice to be recognized," he said. "Growing up playing the game I always liked to hit people. I'd rather hit than be hit."
Murray was named the Division III Eastern District defensive player of the year was named the All-Ohio Division III defensive co-player of the year.
"He'll always be Najee Murray and he'll be our third graduate from Ohio State, following Charlie Keenan and Buster Tillman," said Saccoccia.
"He played safety for us because you need a player like him at safety who can stop the run and the pass. But, when it came down to the nitty-gritty he was on their best player when we had to go man-to-man, like in the Baltimore game and the Buffalo St. Joe's game.
"He's just a great team player."
In addition to football, Murray is a state track champion, teaming with Shaq Petteway, Jonathan Sherrell and Josh Thompson to win the 4x200 relay a year ago.
"Being in track has built up my speed and agility," Murray said. "It's helped me on the football field move faster and quicker."
He follows a line of Big Red athletes who have gone on to play Division I football.
"I looked up to Zach (Collaros), Stevie (Davis) and Shaq, among a lot of other guys," said Murray. "They worked hard at everything and pushed me to be the best that I could be.
"I learned a lot from Shaq. He helped me out a lot with a lot of different things in the recruiting process.
"Shaq was a leader in last year's class. He took me under his wing and helped me out a lot."
Despite all his successes, Murray is still a humble young man.
"My parents stay on me all the time," he said.
"I want to thank God for giving me the ability, my parents for staying on me, the Big Red family and our players for everything."
