Mayfield shows up sick, ‘not dying’
Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield made it to Rose Bowl media day after all, swooping in late and providing a jolt of drama as he noted he has been dealing with “flu-like” symptoms.
The Heisman Trophy winner was absent for the first half of the 45-minute session Saturday morning at the downtown L.A. Hotel, but arrived in time to meet with reporters for the first time this week ahead of the College Football Playoff semifinal between the second-ranked Sooners and No. 3 Georgia on Monday.
Mayfield was not expected to attend. “I’m not dying,” he said. Mayfield said he changed his mind about not attending media day after turning on the television at the team hotel and seeing coach Lincoln Riley answering questions about the quarterback’s status.
“I realized this whole thing is not about me,” Mayfield said. “Oklahoma is here to play a playoff game. It’s not about any sickness that I have. We’re here to win a game, and that’s what it needs to be about. My teammates don’t need to answer questions on my behalf. I’m not dying. I’ll be playing.”
Mayfield has thrown for 4,340 yards, 41 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Mayfield has been at practice each day this week. He said the practices have been a little tougher than usual. He did not attend the team’s trip to Disneyland on Wednesday, dinner on Thursday or his scheduled media availability Friday.
“He’ll be ready to play,” Riley said. “Will he be at 100% physically? We’ll see. He’s not going to miss this one.”
Backs are full
Georgia’s Christian Payne and Oklahoma’s Dimitri Flowers have the same title but very different job descriptions.
Both are listed as fullbacks. For Flowers, that’s really a misnomer. Riley thinks of Flowers as an Hback, as in hybrid. The senior lines up everywhere — receiver, tight end, tailback — allowing the Sooners offense to quickly morph from one look to another.
Payne is the quintessential fullback for Georgia. The senior lines up in front of a tailback and blocks — and that’s pretty much it.
“I’m not used like a lot of fullbacks in the country, and that just goes to attribute to coach Riley and how smart he is on the offensive side of the ball,” Flowers said. “It’s kind of crazy to see that we play the same position, but do almost two totally different things.”
Flowers has only 36 touches this season (13 carries and 23 catches), but he has scored eight touchdowns (four rushing and four receiving). As a runner, the 247-pounder mostly handles short yardage, averaging two yards per carry. As a receiver, he is a big-play threat at 17.9 yards per catch.
During Payne’s freshman year, coaches were short on healthy fullbacks in practice and grabbed Payne away from the defense.
“I was like, shoot, that’s my way to get on the field,” Payne said.