Lincoln Riley tried to keep Baker Mayfield away from Norman
NORMAN — Baker Mayfield is a big reason why Oklahoma is heading to the College Football Playoff to play Georgia in the Rose Bowl.
The Sooners quarterback is also a big reason why Lincoln Riley is OU’s head coach.
Riley had talked before about how he had recruited Mayfield to East Carolina when Riley was the assistant coordinator there, and Mayfield was looking for a new home after deciding to transfer from Texas Tech at the end of the 2013 season.
But Sunday he revealed more specifics about that interaction.
“Trevor Knight’s going to be there for three years, are you crazy?” Riley recalled asking Mayfield.
Mayfield arrived in Norman just days after Knight’s Sugar Bowl-winning performance against Alabama.
“I could tell it was like talking to this podium right here,” Riley said Sunday. “It wasn’t going to matter. ... It just says a ton about how bad he just wanted to be here. You can accomplish great things in a lot of places, but when you’re at your dream spot, I think you can go a little bit further than you can anywhere else.”
S-E-C, S-E-C
For the second consecutive season, Oklahoma will face a team from the Southeastern Conference in its bowl game.
Riley’s predecessor, Bob Stoops, sometimes — typically during the offseason — threw barbs at the SEC.
Earlier this season, Riley got in on the act a bit when talking about his team’s offense and the perception its numbers were inflated playing against Big 12 defenses.
“We didn’t have any problem moving the ball against SEC defenses, one of the best ones in the country last year in the bowl game,” Riley said then.
The Sooners beat Auburn 35-19 in the Sugar Bowl after last season and are 4-0 against SEC teams since 2013.
Sunday, Riley stayed away from SEC talk, though he heaped praise on Georgia.
“To me at this point, it’s not about conference vs. conference,” Riley said. “It’s about this really good team from Oklahoma going up against a really good team in Georgia.”
Sooners scatter to watch announcement
Riley watched the playoff announcement with a small group of people that included athletic director Joe Castiglione, assistant Cale Gundy and a few others.
With the new winter signing period quickly approaching and days on the road recruiting lost last week as Oklahoma prepared for the Big 12 Championship Game, many OU assistants hit the road for recruiting immediately after the win over TCU was secure.
The team was off Sunday and will remain off Monday before resuming some light strength and conditioning work this week.
Riley said it was a bit of a mystery how the signing period would affect things.
“It’s going to be a busy next few weeks, but I think our guys have a great plan and we have a ton of momentum right now, so it’ll be great to get out and see these guys,” Riley said.