The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
BENGALS AT BROWNS
1 p.m., Dec. 23 FirstEnergy Stadium
Bengals 6-8, Browns 6-7-1 WOIO draft on the former Oklahoma standout and 2017 Heisman Trophy winner.
“You see the belief he has in himself and how the rest of the team believes in him,” LaVerde said.
LaVerde sensed those qualities from the moment Mayfield, then the back-up, ran onto the field to replace injured starter Tyrod Taylor in the second quarter of the Week 3 Thursday night home game against the New York Jets.
The Browns trailed at the time, 14-0. They went on to win, 21-17, snapping a 19game winless streak.
“As soon as he ran into the huddle that day, that was a better team,” LaVerde said.
With their precocious rookie signal-caller having thrown for 3,065 yards and 21 touchdowns in 12 games, the Browns are 6-7-1 and on the fringes of playoff contention going into the 2018 home finale against Cincinnati on Dec. 23.
“He reminds me of an old Western gunslinger.” LaVerde said of Mayfield. “His confidence is like John Wayne in a movie. Watch the body language. He’s the coolest guy on the field and he knows it.”
In recent weeks, LaVerde has taken advantage of opportunities for up-close looks at Mayfield and the resurgent Browns.
On Dec. 9, he was at FirstEnergy Stadium to see the Browns beat the Carolina Panthers, 26-20. At halftime, he was honored as the 2018 Cleveland Browns High School Coach of the Year.
Three days earlier, he took in the entirety of a Browns practice in Berea along with head coaches and players from the other Northeast Ohio teams that claimed state football titles this year: St. Edward (Division I), Akron Hoban (Division II), Kenston (Division III) and Orrville (Division V). Kirtland won in Division VI.
Mayfield was a clear standout in the practice setting, according to LaVerde.
“I was incredibly impressed by his quick release,” LaVerde said. “Look at the way he makes his reads and how fast he makes them. He sees the windows. He knows when to throw to throw the ball. And he throws the ball with such velocity. He really spins it.”
There’s another aspect of the rise of Mayfield and the Browns this season that has caught LaVerde’s attention.
It’s the way his players, and many other Kirtland students he interacts with at school, are riding the emotional wave with the Browns.
“In their lives, my seniors have never seen (the Browns) be a winner,” LaVerde said. “They’ve been waiting a long time for a good (NFL) team. Now they have one. They are pretty excited.”
Near as he can reckon, LaVerde added, all of his players and many of their fellow students were at watch parties when the Browns beat Denver, 17-16, in a nationally televised Saturday night game on Dec. 15.
“I don’t think I’d heard of our guys going to a Browns watch party in all the years I’ve been at Kirtland,” LaVerde said.
He’s pretty sure Kirtland’s football team and student body will be wellrepresented in the stands at FirstEnergy Stadium for the AFC North clash with Cincinnati.
“Hey, it’s Christmas,” LaVerde said, chuckling. “It’s been a long time since people were this excited and Browns games mattered in December.”
Because he was the team’s High School Coach of the Year honoree, LaVerde will represent the Browns at the 2019 Pro Bowl.
The game is scheduled for Jan. 27 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.