Some have questioned why Baker Mayfield would transfer from Texas Tech to OU. Some have even suggested that Mayfield must be a head cased to quit the Tech team prior to their bowl game and if so why would OU or anyone else take a chance on this guy. While a final end to this story will not be known for a while, a Mayfield move to OU could pay huge dividends for the Sooners in 2014.
As you may remember Baker Mayfield came out of nowhere at the start the season as he led the Red Raiders to a win over SMU. As a true freshman Baker Mayfield was only a few months out of high school when he walked on at Tech and led the Raiders to victory. With Baker Mayfield at the helm Texas Tech went on a seven game winning streak. After being injured and replaced by Davis Webb the Red Raiders went on to lose five in a row.
Baker Mayfeld never regained the starting position as Kliff Kingsbury decided on Davis Webb to start the bowl game against Arizona State. From all appearances in the Holiday Bowl Kingsbury made a good choice in Davis Webb. At the same time this fact should not diminish the value of Baker Mayfield to the OU program. If anything, the exceptional performance by Webb in the Holiday Bowl may expedite Mayfield’s move to OU.
Baker Mayfield came out of Austin Westlake last sprint with a lot of confidence in himself, but few college takers. He eventually turned down Mike Leach and Washington State to walk on at Tech. While direct communication between any OU coach and Baker Mayfield would be violation of NCAA rules, a family relationship between the Mayfield family and OU assistant coach Bobby Jack Wright may prove extremely beneficial to OU in the long run.
At this point, it appears that Tech is out and OU may be in for the future services of Baker Mayfield. Fortunately Baker Mayfield is not easily discourages and the fact that some have suggested that bringing in Baker Mayfield to the current crowded quarterback situation at OU would be a mistake will not deter him from enrolling at OU for the spring semester. Not enough snaps during spring drills for the OU quarterbacks already on campus some have suggested. With Blake Bell, Trevor Knight, Kendal Thompson, and Cody Thomas already on campus, and Justice Hansen set to join the competition in January, why would OU need or want another quarterback?
History, this is why… If history has taught us anything, it is that you can never have too many quarterbacks on campus. Back in 2006, it appeared that the Sooners would enter the season with too many quarterbacks. Things happened and before we knew it OU was down to a wide receiver playing quarterback.
Due to a backlog at quarterbacks, OU’s four star prospect Tommy Grady transferred to Utah during the off season. Rhett Bomar was booted from the team just weeks before the season opener. Future great Sam Bradford was on campus, but clearly not ready to make his first start. That left not-ready-for-primetime juco transfer Joey Halzle and wide receiver Paul Thompson to lead a team that was projected by Vegas as a 5-1 favorite to win the national championship. Thompson did a serviceable job at quarterback, but the Sooners national championship season never materialized. With OU approaching a critical year nationally in 2014, having a seasoned another seasoned backup in camp could be a very good thing.
Given OU’s bad luck of late, this worst case scenario could occur again and wreck what could be a break out year in 2014 for the Sooners. Let’s say that Trevor Knight wins the quarterback battle in the spring, a move that could prompt Blake Bell to transfer in order to play immediately somewhere else. Kendal Thompson, being the loose cannon that he is gets suspended, again. That leaves baseball phenom Cody Thomas and true freshman Justice Hansen. The jury is still out on Cody Thomas and Hansen like Sam Bradford could use a redshirt year.
Enter Baker Mayfield to save the day. Mayfield can provide the Sooners with an experienced quarterback who can step at in anytime for the off injured Trevor Knight. With college football becoming more and more physical, it has become imperative for championship teams to have more than one able bodied quarterback.
2014 will be a critical year for the Sooners and for that matter the Big 12. With a ton of returning starters to go along with a sweet schedule, the Sooners can make a serious run at a final four playoff spot. Baker Mayfield could be a big part of that run…I say, the more the merrier….
Note: Baker Mayfield will have to jump through a number of NCAA hoops to become immediately eligible at OU. Normally, a player must sit out a year when transferring from on D-I to school to another D-1 school. Transferring to another school in conference can add another year to the wait process. I think there may be a loop-hole ion the rules however. The fact that Baker Mayfield walked on at Tech and was not actively recruited by the Red Raiders and the fact that he was a non-scholarship player in 2013 may work to his advantage. We shall see…