His turn to lead
Baker Mayfield is unquestionably the leader of the OU football team.
NORMAN — One night, a short time after the University of Oklahoma’s spring 2014 semester began, football player Ty Darlington went to an off-campus party.
When he arrived, Darlington quickly noticed one person he had never met dancing in the middle of the room.
“He had a little curly afro and was a little chubby, honestly,” Darlington recalled with a laugh this week. “He was making a fool of himself dancing, but he was the life of the party.
“He didn’t look like an athlete by any means; he just looked like another guy.”
Who could have imagined that guy would end up becoming one of college football’s best quarterbacks? Regardless, the story perfectly exemplifies the easygoing persona that made Baker Mayfield a quick locker room favorite among his Oklahoma teammates.
And as OU nears the end of its 2016 spring practices — the annual Red-White spring game is Saturday afternoon on Owen Field — this team is unquestionably Mayfield’s, especially with virtually every other leader from last year’s championship squad gone.
Darlington, Sterling Shepard, Eric Striker and Charles Tapper all ran of out collegiate eligibility. Zack Sanchez chose to skip his
OU SPRING GAME
• When: 2 p.m. Saturday • Where: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman • TV: FSOK (Cox 37)/FCS (Cox 271) • Radio: KREF-AM 1400/98.5 FM/KRXO-FM 107.7
final year of college football and declare for the 2016 NFL Draft.
And, of course, quarterback Trevor Knight — a team captain last year despite his backup status — transferred to Texas A&M.
“We did lose a lot of great leaders,” said senior linebacker Jordan Evans. “It’s just about stepping up, taking over and doing what they did, but do it in our own way.
“It really just comes down to us doing it on our own.”
Players like Evans, safeties Steven Parker and Ahmad Thomas and running back Samaje Perine will certainly be important parts of filling the team’s leadership void in 2016.
But Mayfield’s first-team All-America performance and Heisman Trophy candidacy — which propelled OU to a Big 12 championship and College Football playoff berth last season — made him the current face of Sooner football.
And what’s not to love? Mayfield, considered too small for major college football coming out of Lake Travis High in Austin, Texas, has twice walked on at Big 12 football programs and won starting quarterback jobs.
He is tough and fearless on the field. His overjoyed reactions to touchdowns have endeared him to fans. He isn’t afraid to speak his mind in media interviews.
When the Sooners traveled to Orlando, Fla., for the 2014 Russell Athletic Bowl — a game Mayfield watched helplessly in street clothes because of his transfer from Texas Tech — his flawless “Whip” dance performed during a team event was caught on video and went viral.
“He’s such a carefree, fun, energetic guy,” Darlington said. “He connects with people on that level. People genuinely enjoy being around him. But that’s only part of it, because there are a lot of guys like that.
“I think what separates him is the way he transforms in different situations. In touchdown celebrations and sometimes on the sideline, you see that goofy part of him, but when you’re on the field and in competition, he can command people’s respect and authority.”
If the past is any indication, it seems unlikely fans will see much of Mayfield actually playing Saturday. Quarterbacks wear blue “no-contact” jerseys during OU spring games, and when Bob Stoops has returned an established starting quarterback, that person has rarely played more than a few series in the glorified scrimmage.
Still, it’s hard to imagine Mayfield going completely unnoticed Saturday, even if he’s just encouraging, celebrating and maybe even dancing on the sideline.
“Bake is doing a fantastic job of leading our offense, and really leading the team,” Parker said. “He has just always been that dude that, you knew he was in the room.
“And he’s really expressing it now.”