NORMAN, Okla. -- They're actually falling behind in erecting Heisman Trophy statues at Oklahoma. A project that began 12 years ago to honor Sooners football greats now has a backlog of bronze on the books.

The Sooners are literally winning Stiff Arms faster than they can dedicate immortal likenesses across the street from Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in OU's Heisman Park.

The situation won't be rectified anytime soon. Oklahoma officials are taking their time adding back-to-back Heisman winners Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray to the statuary lineup. It seems those same officials consider it a bit awkward that a player could be immortalized while his former teammates are still sweating over on the practice field.

What other school has that "problem?" Murray was named the 2018 CBS Sports Player of the Year on Wednesday after winning Oklahoma's second consecutive Heisman. That followed the Heisman season of Baker Mayfield, who was similarly named the 2017 CBS Sports Player of the Year.

That made the pair, in short order, the sixth and seventh Oklahoma Heisman winners. It also put a couple of statues on back order.

"It's probably hard to even quantify right now," OU coach Lincoln Riley said this week. "It will have a long-lasting impact because, No. 1, it's so rare. The impact of that we'll be talking about it to the end of my life."

Or at least until next week's early signing day, which figures to be the next tangible sign Riley is killing it. In his first two seasons as a head coach, he has led a pair of Heisman winners and achieved two College Football Playoff berths. The man is running out of superlatives at the same rate his team is scoring points.

"Kyler's his own guy," Riley said. "I don't think Baker's personality rubbed off on him. They're different in some ways, but they're also really very similar. When you get them in a setting like our meeting room -- where there's not cameras there or people they don't know -- Baker doesn't really care who's there. Kyler is different around people that he trusts. In the meeting room, Baker fired something at Kyler. Kyler fired something right back. That was Day 1 when he came in the door. He never deferred to Baker on anything. That's why they got along so well. It was friendly and healthy respect."

Before asking what's next at Oklahoma, it's best trying to imagine Murray three years ago.

The five-star prospect from Allen, Texas, was transferring from Texas A&M. Never mind he had become the only other SEC quarterback besides Cam Newton in the last 20 years to run and pass for 100 yards each while throwing and running for a touchdown in his first career start.

Never mind A&M was the school his father Kevin played at in the mid-1980s. Something wasn't right. We may never find out exactly what. Murray threw 121 times his freshman season in 2015 and eventually won the starting job from teammate Kyle Allen. That wasn't enough.

Now things couldn't be more right. Oklahoma's redshirt junior strides into the College Football Playoff as an All-American quarterback, Heisman winner and the obvious choice to be our player of the year.

"I've been playing this game my whole life," Murray said last week. "To leave this game with a bad taste in my mouth after my freshman year at A&M, it's not just who I am. I've worked my whole life for this."

Murray earned our honor by passing over a generational quarterback (Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa) to become a generational quarterback himself. He tied for most touchdowns accounted for this season (51) while piling up for the second-most yards ever by a Heisman winner.

Try to imagine the Sooners without Murray. You can't. Murray was the fire-starter who may have the difference between a fourth consecutive Big 12 title for the Sooners and a mid-level finish. Especially when Murray was backed up by the worst defense (108th nationally) ever to play for a national championship.

In those three years, the coach Murray left (Kevin Sumlin) was fired. The coach he transferred to (Bob Stoops) retired. The coach he inherited at Oklahoma (Riley) is already being talked about as an NFL coaching prospect at the tender age of 36.

"Did I envision this success? Yeah," Murray said. "This is something I always dreamed of. I don't want to sound cocky or anything, but ever since I started playing football, I just always made plays whether it was offense or defense."

You might have noticed Murray is making plays in two sports as well. When the Oakland A's drafted him in the top 10 of June's MLB Draft, Murray became college football's highest-paid player, perhaps ever. Murray signed an initial $4.66 million deal with the A's. The NCAA allows players to sign professionally in one sport and compete as a collegian in the other. In this case, somehow the pillars amateurism didn't collapse.

The contract also confirmed who paid for the weekly dinners with the offensive line at Norman's Tea Cafe, an Asian deli.

"Kyler pays," the quarterback said, matter-of-factly.

Murray and his baseball representatives somehow convinced the A's their investment wouldn't be harmed playing one more season of college football at the highest level. Suddenly, there seems to be a decision that has to be made. With a breakout football season, Murray has made himself an NFL commodity if he chooses to play both sports.

His agent, Scott Boras, seemed to tamp down football speculation recently.

"Kyler has agreed and the A's agreed to a baseball contract that gave him permission to play college football through the end of the collegiate season," Boras said. "After that, he is under contract to play baseball. That is not a determination to make. It's already done."

Murray turned heads Wednesday when he said, "As of right now, I'm going to play baseball."

As of right now.

You can't make this stuff up. After sitting out 2016, Murray backed up an entrenched starter (Mayfield) who won the Heisman. Then in 2018, Murray won the Heisman himself.

For the first time in history, a Heisman winner replaced a Heisman winner on the same team at the same position.

Try to imagine that.

If you must have a Heisman moment for Murray, it was actually a series of them back in the first meeting with Texas on Oct. 6. Murray rallied the Sooners back from a three-touchdown deficit within a six-minute span in the fourth quarter. OU lost the game, but Murray planted a flag in the country's conscience. His five total touchdowns became a calling card. Murray accounted for at least five scores four times during the season.

In the end, we prefer Murray winning our player of the year award rather than Tagovailoa losing it. There was something about those feet (892 yards rushing) and that arm (Big 12 passing leader, No. 3 nationally). Going into the playoff, Murray is on pace to become the most efficient passer in NCAA history.

That would surpass the record Mayfield set last season.

And the battle isn't over. Murray and Tagovailoa will go head-to-head in the Orange Bowl semifinal of the CFP on Saturday, Dec. 29.

"It wasn't weird at all," Murray said after meeting Tagovailoa at the Heisman ceremony. "It wasn't awkward for me. He's a good dude. His family was very supportive of me."

That's another example how life continues to come at Murray as a dizzying pace. In January, he will start his pro baseball career with a hell of a story to tell his teammates about the other sport he played. The tale will include two schools, three coaches, one piece of stiff-armed hardware and potentially a national championship to go along with it.

And Oklahoma's fantastic dual-threat quarterback wants you to know how he will be immortalized when they do get around to sculpting that Heisman statue.

"Throwing," Murray said.