COMMENTARY
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Tip of the cap to the talent spotters at Rice and New Mexico for extending a scholarship to Baker Mayfield in 2013. And kudos to Mike Leach, exiled some 1,900 miles away in Pullman, Wash., for also recognizing enough potential in the undersized quarterback from Austin.
Too bad no team in the Big 12 did.
Not Oklahoma, the program Mayfield grew up idolizing. Not TCU, which became the kid’s second choice. Not Texas Tech, where Mayfield nonetheless reported for fall camp and subsequently starred as a freshman walk-on.
Yet at the end of a curious and often agitating journey, here is Mayfield being heralded at the school he loved all along—starting for the 15th-ranked Sooners (3-0) as they prepare to host West Virginia (3-0).
Nevermind Mayfield’s father venting that coach Kliff Kingsbury “is a punk” for attempting to block his son’s transfer even after Texas Tech continued to deny a scholarship to the quarterback who went 5-2 as a starter. (“It was classless,” said James Mayfield. “It will catch up to him eventually.”)
Nevermind recruiters who prejudged Mayfield too short and too slight to excel at Power 5 football.
Nevermind the games where Oklahoma fans crossed fingers in prayer Trevor Knight wouldn’t commit a lethal mistake. At present Mayfield is winning games, not merely managing them.
West Virginia defensive coordinator Tony Gibson reviewed the Tennessee film from Sept. 12, when Oklahoma looked dead in the river through three quarters, trailing 17-3. Even knowing that the Sooners prevailed 31-24 in double-overtime, Gibson caught himself questioning how the comeback unfolded.
“You’re thinking how did they come back and win this game? The fourth quarter and overtime, (Mayfield) just carried that football team. He just dug deep and outplayed some people.
“Tennessee had them, but they clawed back in it—all on his shoulders.”
Mayfield, somewhat laughably listed at 6-foot-2, threw three touchdowns against the Vols and prolonged the game by running in a fourth-and-goal keeper in the first OT. A week later he accounted for six more touchdowns against Tulsa.
Beyond the stats—which are premium considering Mayfield ranks No. 9 nationally in passing efficiency—Gibson notices intangibles.
“He hands the ball off on third-and-1 and he’s excited when they get the first down. I mean, he’s juiced up,” Gibson said. “You can tell he’s a leader and that he was born to be a quarterback.”
Dana Holgorsen described Mayfield as “a ballplayer,” a term of endearment considering how much Holgorsen appreciates his own ballplayer QB. Skyler Howard, currently fourth in the FBS passing, represents a slightly shorter version of Mayfield, right down to the Texas roots and the inability to accommodate nonbelievers.
Saturday’s Big 12 opener in Norman couldn’t find two more deserving role models for the underappreciated.
“They are similar type players,” Holgorsen said. “Both a little undersized and neither one of them was recruited very hard out of what is pretty good Texas high school football. They both play with a chip on their shoulder. They are very mobile, they have good arms, and they are accurate. And they like to play the game. Both are exciting.“
Too exciting for Gibson’s taste. He watched Mayfield rescue a broken play against Tulsa by ducking out of a collapsed pocket, backpedaling from a linebacker spy at point-blank range and finally firing a touchdown pass. The PAT had barely cleared when the clip was uploaded to YouTube calling the Sooners QB Manziel-like—something Kingsbury first referenced in Lubbock before their falling out.
“He’s an escape artist,” said Gibson, whose blitz-heavy 3-3-5 must account for Mayfield’s wheels and uncanny vision.
“You’ve got to be careful how you blitz him. You don’t want to spook him early and let him get on the run when we’ve got guys downfield in man coverage. We’ve got to make sure from the second level that somebody’s in charge of not letting him break contain.”