Sam Houston State transfer defensive lineman Chris Murray was a surprise visitor on Florida State's campus on Thursday.
Following a breakout season in the Bearkats' first season at the FBS level, Murray entered the portal when the window first opened on Dec. 5. After multiple visits to programs around the country, Murray found himself at Florida State on Thursday and will continue to see more programs after his departure on Friday morning.
In the time that Murray spent on campus, it was the time with the coaching staff that Murray raved about.
"The coaches. The atmosphere, the energy and the love that they bring," Murray said. "I walked in that building and everybody was clapping, It's just the love."
"Everything was matching what I'm looking for," he later added. "I only have one year left so building that relationship is bigger than just playing football. So one year left with people I can trust is great for me, I'm loving it."
Murray had a breakout year at Sam Houston State, where he totaled 35 tackles, 5.5 sacks and two forced fumbles en route to a successful 10-3 season in Conference USA.
Schematically, the Bearkats did similar things to what new defensive coordinator Tony White is implementing at Florida State. The Seminoles liked what they saw on tape and felt like Murray would be a comfortable fit for the new scheme.
"They love how I'm aggressive, how I attack and everything. Just watching my film and overall needing a person to come in and do that," Murray said.
"Playing on the edge. I'm fast and physical. It's an attack front so they said I would be in the five, attack up, four — all that type of stuff," he explained. "Me being in the scheme, it depends on who we are game-planning against. He loved my resilience at the point of attack."
The "he" mentioned was new defensive line coach Terrance Knighton, whom Murray enjoyed getting to know.
"He's one of those coaches where you talk to him where he can be your friend at one point but when the switch flips on the field it's different. Having a different outside relationship instead of just being an all-business coach. That's major," Murray said.
The Seminoles appear to be in a good spot for Murray following his visit. The rising senior grew up watching Florida State and knows plenty about the program, so a successful visit had him loving the program as he departed on Friday morning.
"I feel great about FSU. I love it — I love everything about it. We'll figure it out soon in the next couple of days," Murray said.
From here, Murray still plans to visit Auburn on Friday and then Virginia over the weekend. NC State reached out to him prior to his visit to Florida State. Murray admits that he may have to stop visits after his trip to Virginia and go into decision-making mode as the semester starts soon. There are some logistics to work out on when a decision comes but Florida State is certainly high on his list following his official visit.
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