Latavius Gonna Playforus?

I fully expected to find out there was a famous Roman general named Latavius who ran roughshod over Gaul and expanded the empire with his fierce style and take-no-prisoners attack.  Apparently not.  The only Latavius that comes up for me in the one currently on the UCF football roster and is thinking about transferring to Syracuse.

Cusians might remember Latavius from his exploits at Onondaga High School where he rushed for 2,194 yards on 175 carries his senior season and was named New York State Class D player of the year.It would have seemed that a spot with a major BCS team was in his future but Murray spurned several high-profile schools including Syracuse, Maryland, Boston College and Connecticut to attend Central Florida where he could close to his father.  UCF also promised him a shot at RB, where he wanted to play. 

Latavius is already looking at a season off the field due to a torn ACL and major knee surgery in May.  Therein, however, might lie the reason why Murray is leaning towards coming back home in the first place.

Murray is currently rehabilitating the knee at the Strength in Motion facility in East Syracuse under the direction of Brad Pike.

Pike serves as SU's basketball athletics trainer, but also runs his own business at the Strength in Motion facility. Murray worked out at Strength in Motion as a high school athlete.

I'm sure the topic of coming to play at SU never, ever, ever, ever came up and I would never make an assumption that Brad Pike is anything but a beacon of ethics and honor in the eyes of NCAA-regulations.  But...you know...

Worth noting that since Pike works mostly with the Syracuse basketball team, there isn't a man alive more well-equipped to rehab a torn ACL injury.  You've come to the right place, Latty.

UCF coach George O'Leary is bummed to see Murray go ("I think he has a lot of potential and I hate to lose a kid like that"), though Latavius still hasn't officially made any plans ("I'm trying to get things figured out myself, really.").  But all signs points to him making a decision soon, one that will put him in the care of SU staffers full-time.  Bigger questions like whether or not Murray would play RB or move to another position (he was quite the LB in high school also) are questions for another day.