Lights, camera, MAYFIELD
OU’s Heisman winner takes center stage on draft night
MOORE — It was easy to spot Baker Mayfield.
With 250 kids aged 6 to 16 warming up on the field at Buck Thomas Park a month ago, Mayfield made a grand entrance to his inaugural kids camp.
He walked across a grassy hill from the parking lot with his camera crew and public relations team in tow.
Wearing sunglasses, a wide-brimmed camouflage bucket hat and an oversized silver watch, Mayfield looked — and acted — every part the superstar, rolling into his camp on his time.
Before he took the field, Mayfield stopped at a secluded table set up in the shade and sat down to ink his signature on a stack of photos. Nearby, parents and siblings inched closer to the quarterback, clutching footballs and iPhones as they loitered, hoping to snag a signature or a selfie before the quarterback jogged on to the field.
With his gold rings glinting in the late afternoon sun, Mayfield tossed each kid a few passes, then took a picture with them before moving on to the next age group.
As with most things in
Mayfield’s public life, it was a circus.
The Baker Mayfield Circus, Show, Experience, whatever it is, has been in full swing since the Heisman winner decided to move to
I think there’s some riskreward there, obviously, with Baker Mayfield.”
ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.
Los Angeles immediately after losing in the Rose Bowl. He’s embraced and manipulated the spotlight in a way that few high-profile NFL prospects have, and Thursday night, he’ll find out if his tour de force will continue as OU’s first No. 1 pick since Sam Bradford went to the Rams in 2010.
He might end up being Broadway Baker or Mile High Mayfield.
But what if he already went Hollywood?
Mayfield’s celebrity status in the months leading up to the NFL Draft (7 p.m., ESPN, Fox, NFL Network) is something franchises have been carefully evaluating before making their final selection.
“That’s one of the concerns with Baker Mayfield — in addition to being 6-foot and a half,” ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr., said on a recent teleconference. “There has been that one off-thefield issue (in Arkansas), there has been the antics (at Ohio State and Kansas). And then he brings with him some drama.”
Kiper admits some of that drama comes with being an NFL quarterback, but questions still remain about the former Oklahoma superstar.
“I think there’s some risk-reward there, obviously, with Baker Mayfield.”
The reward with drafting Mayfield is obvious: a fiery winner with infinite drive, determination and accuracy.
But that team will also get a player who who didn’t fly back to Oklahoma with his teammates after losing the national semifinal, then invited a camera crew to capture his every move for three months.
In the series, “Next Level: Behind Baker,” those closest to him questioned the Los Angeles move.
“Wasn’t real happy,” his mom, Gina, said. “Staying out in L.A. with all the distractions involved and everything. I was a little bit concerned and he knows that. I told him.”
Added Sooner coach Lincoln Riley: “You know, I might’ve picked a few other places other than LA for him to go, but he’s handled it well.”
The documentary, produced by Identifi,
undoubtedly gives a personal look into the world of Mayfield and somewhat counteracts the Johnny Manziel-Mayfield narrative. Though similar quarterbacks, there’s no evidence that Mayfield lacks motivation or drive.
What Manziel lacked in want-to, Mayfield has in spades.
But the all-access look also seemed to open a new narrative: that Mayfield might be embracing the celebrity lifestyle a little too much.
While the documentary shows his intense training with former NFL quarterback Jimmy Clausen and his work with the youth camp in Moore, it also shows a couple of head-shaking moments. While talking to Riley, Mayfield casually bragged about being at actor Mark Wahlberg’s house and complained that the Davey O’Brien Gala being thrown in his honor was inconveniently timed.
“All these people with these banquets,” he says to Riley, “they don’t realize the timing of it. Terrible.”
Every top draft prospect goes through the branding process before the NFL Draft, but seeing how the sausage is made — through designing personal logos and exploring branded underwear deals — doesn’t seem beneficial to a guy trying to prove that he’s more than off-the-field distractions.
“Baker brings a lot of that drama with him,” Kiper said. “Some he creates, some just now follows him because he’s done such great things at Oklahoma. But that’s part of being a quarterback in the NFL. You’re going to have people always around you, and you’re going to have a lot of things pulling you away from what you’re doing.
“But I think that’s something he’s going to have to navigate through.”
Whenever Mayfield is picked Thursday night, there’s a good chance we won’t see his reaction — at least until the draft episode of his documentary is released on Facebook.
Mayfield and his family aren’t allowing any media, including ESPN, in his watch party other than the documentary crew.
After all, he’s going to do things his way, in his own time.