Oklahoma's Murray confirms he'll play football in 2018 after being drafted to MLB

Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray confirmed on a conference call Monday that he'll be returning to play football for the Sooners in 2018, according to Ralph D. Russo of the Associated Press.

Murray was chosen ninth overall by the Oakland Athletics in the MLB draft, and the A's are apparently OK with his decision to stick with football.

A's scouting director Eric Kubota said the team is supportive of Murray not playing any baseball until next spring.

"The risk of the football was, in our opinion, outweighed by the upside on the baseball field," Kubota said, according to MLB.com's Jane Lee. "We were totally on board with his desire to play quarterback at Oklahoma. Frankly, we're excited to be Oklahoma fans for 12 games."

Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley said last week that he expected Murray to return. The former backup to Baker Mayfield will compete for the Sooners' starting job with sophomore Austin Kendall.