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A moment ago of the Mayfield rookie season which displays its charming mark of confidence. After leading the Browns to a 28-16 victory, Mayfield is asked by a reporter what clicked him that afternoon. Mayfield, with a subtle tilt of the head, simply says, "When I woke up this morning, I felt very dangerous." He stood facing the stone for a moment, a corner of his lips still turning very slightly up, his eyes twinkling with a knowing twinkle.
"Feeling dangerous" has become his business card, the slogan of his true season. The night after tasting my Baker Mayfield steak in Hyde Park, I was able to enjoy a Feeling Dangerous beer downtown. Another local establishment has announced a Feelin & # 39; Dangerous hamburger, with kielbasa and pierogies. In Cleveland, the energy contained in Baker's slogan seems contagious and helps explain why the losing season of the Browns (7-8-1) seemed so winning. For the first time in a long time, Mayfield made the Cleveland Browns feel unsafe. As Mayfield's own story shows, this change in mentality is powerful: you often have to start believing that you are a threat long before others can begin to see it.
Upon graduating from high school in Austin, Mayfield received only a few scholarship offers. Despite an impressive 25-2 record at Lake Travis, he could not help thinking that he was too small to play in a really ambitious program. His friends at home jokingly say that he's still 12 years old because he was the smallest of the group. Mayfield's franchise for her skinny size takes me by surprise. "Thinking back, I was somehow built like a little dog," he concedes during his period of pre-water heater.
With the encouragement of her father, Mayfield refused his scholarship offers. Instead, he signed up for Texas Tech, determined to make the team a stand-alone player. But he did not just walk, he persecuted and won the starting post. During an impressive first year season, he suffered a knee injury. With his starter status in jeopardy, he claims that he has not been offered a scholarship for his second year. So Baker made an even bigger bet. He decided to transfer to Oklahoma the first-class program for which he grew up.
"It helped me to be emotionally attached to this school, just growing up as a fan," he says. "It's like 'This is where I dreamed of playing, but I also know that I can go play there. I believe in myself, so why not go do it? "
Do not forget that Oklahoma did not really need Baker Mayfield. The Sooners had just defeated Alabama at the 2014 Sugar Bowl, where their sensational quarterback, Trevor Knight, had played. Mayfield was not discouraged. After only one semester at Texas Tech, he drove his mother to Norman to register for spring classes. He wasted no time looking for head coach Bob Stoops, providing him with a quick introduction to this Mayfield moxie.
"When he approached me, he did not bother to call anyone about the transfer," Stoops recalls. "You do not transfer anywhere. The previous year, we found ourselves somewhere in the country's top five, six, against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, and our first-year quartershy in redshirt was the game's most valuable player. He will come and go to Oklahoma to play the quarterback? This tells you everything you need to know right away. That this guy, he came and introduced himself, had a big smile and a serious look like, "I'm going to do that."
According to the rules of the NCAA, he was to be absent from the upcoming season. He has also managed to excel in this area. "I loved this year," says Mayfield. He played intramural softball. "Two intramural champions. One of my greatest achievements, "he says. He also tried to play intramural football, but after a match he was informed that it would not be allowed. (He points out that his team won the match.)
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