Mayfield addresses arrest
Baker Mayfield breaks his silence about his arrest last month.
NORMAN — In the moments after the cuffs clicked into place around his wrists in the early morning hours of Feb. 25, Baker Mayfield felt his mind take him far from the sidewalk where he stood in Fayetteville, Ark.
He was consumed by thoughts of every person who would be impacted by his actions that night, by his raised and combative speech, his hastened steps away from the police officers, his refusal to comply with their orders, and his tumble to the ground under the weight of the officer that stopped him in his tracks on the sidewalk.
“I wish I could’ve changed it, right after,” Mayfield said on Tuesday afternoon. “I really wish I could’ve done something different and not put myself in that position. But it was an instant regret in realizing what I did.”
Even now, nearly a month after his arrest, Mayfield still thinks about those actions that resulted in four misdemeanor charges, but he’s also taking action to distance himself from his embarrassing night.
“It’s about being consistent, doing the right things at all times,” Mayfield said. “You know, around football, I have done that. I can’t have any slip-ups because I have not only my teammates looking up to me, I have my coaches counting on me.
“I have Sooner Nation and all the fans, little kids. I was once that little
kid. So that was the biggest thing that was eating me up. I realized how many people I let down. It’s hard, but I’ve got to move on.”
Days after the arrest, he issued a written apology on Twitter. Then, on the first day of spring practice, Mayfield stepped in front of the cameras gathered on Oklahoma’s rugby fields and answered questions for nearly 20 minutes.
“That was very much my idea,” Mayfield said of the written apology, “I felt, honestly, I felt very, very bad about it. I felt terrible because I know I let a lot of people down in my family, and I wanted to get out there and put it out there that it was a mistake, and it’s not a character flaw whatsoever.
“I wanted to get out there and let people know how I genuinely felt before people started getting their own ideas and their own spin on it. I wanted to do that, and that’s why I’m talking to you guys today. So you know how I feel and now the first step is moving forward, even though I might still be thinking about it and the mistake that I made.”
And even though Mayfield hasn’t moved completely past the incident, he’s still able to laugh when people like Barry Switzer make jokes on Twitter about Mayfield’s speed — or lack thereof — or when his teammates tease him in the locker room.
“That’s how I know my teammates are always going to be there for me,” Mayfield said. “They can just mess around with me, even though sometimes I might not take it as a joke because I’m still mentally getting over it. They’re there for me. So I appreciate it.”
Coach Bob Stoops isn’t making a determination about Mayfield’s punishment until the legal process plays out, but in the quarterback’s darkest moments, the times that he slips back into thinking about the incident, he wonders exactly what will happen.
“It’s tough in that aspect,” he said. “That’s why I just gotta put my head down and go to work right now because we’ll handle that when the time comes, but for now, I can’t think about it. If you focus on the negative, then that’s not good for anybody. You can only pray about it and just work on football.”
Though offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley was disappointed when he heard the news about Mayfield’s arrest, he believes that his quarterback will find a way to learn and grow from the incident.
“I was disappointed,” Riley said. “I have high expectations for him. But you know what? We all make mistakes. I made mistakes too. I’m damn sure not perfect. I can promise you that. Our job is to be mentors, to teach them when they’ve done wrong, to help them learn from it and to help him.
“And I know Baker very, very well and I would be shocked if he does anything but turn it into a positive to make him better and then bounce back from it in a good way.”
When Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy promoted the Cowboy wrestling team’s highly anticipated home dual against Penn State last month with a viral video, all eyes were focused on his orange singlet and giant “Big Daddy” coffee mug.
But cue the tape again and look a bit closer at the right corner of his desk. There’s a yellowing photograph printed on a sheet of paper. It’s young man in white shoes and a blue singlet. His feet staggered at shoulder width. His arms out with hands at the ready.
You guessed it: teenage Gundy during his Midwest City days.
“The last year I wrestled was ninth grade,” Gundy said, “and I finished 35-0.”
The sport never stuck, but his respect for it never faded.
OSU’s presence at the NCAA wrestling championships in St. Louis last week provides a fitting reminder about the grappling talent headed to Stillwater this fall. Included in OSU football’s 2017 signing class are several crossover athletes who thrived on the mat.
Oologah defensive end Brock Martin was named
All-State Defensive Player of the Year in addition to winning three-consecutive state wrestling titles. Wagoner safety Malcolm Rodriguez tallied seven interceptions and 238 tackles in his high school career while also earning two state wrestling championships. Incoming Bixby defensive tackle Brendon Evers was a dominant wrestler, too.
Fua Leilua, a 2017 defensive tackle transfer from Snow College, won state as a high school wrestler in Utah. Current OSU offensive lineman Larry Williams was also a highly touted wrestler during his prep days in North Carolina.
“Wrestling is a tremendous sport for a lot of things,” Gundy said. “Not only discipline, toughness and character; but it’s great for balance and it’s great for strength because you have to use every muscle all the time. You’re very seldom ever resting.”
That was undoubtedly the case for Martin. He terrorized opposing offenses during his high school career with more than 50 sacks and 400 tackles for Oologah; lining up at defensive end, defensive tackle and linebacker.
“Wrestling just makes you tough,” said Martin back on National Signing Day. “Defensive lineman wise, it helps my hands, my feet, quickness, understanding leverage and stuff like that. It’s really the reason why I’m doing what I’m doing.”
OSU wrestling coach John Smith is well aware of Gundy’s desire to reach into his sport to find talent. Smith signed four instate products — Daton Fix (Sand Springs), Christian Bahl (Stillwater), Jet Taylor (Sallisaw)and Kaden Gfeller (Heritage Hall) — who will join the team this fall and witnessed the dominance of Martin and Rodriguez while on the recruiting trail, too.
Smith knew Rodriguez had signed with the OSU football team, but had to be notified by a reporter about Martin. No surprise, though, as Smith joked about a potential wrestling roster addition.
“Well, if we need a heavyweight,” Smith said, “I know where to go.”