Baker Mayfield Eviscerates His Ex-College Coach Over How He Was Treated
Not satisfied with calling out Colin Cowherd to his face on his own show, Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield is now going after the man who recruited him in high school and brought him to Texas Tech.
The Red Raiders chapter is a forgotten one in Mayfield’s book, but he made history at Texas Tech in 2013 by becoming the first walk-on true freshman QB to start a season opener.
Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury was the man who made it happen, but Mayfield recently opened up as to why things changed between the two of them in the Fox Sports series “All The Way Up.”
“Kliff and I had a great relationship,” he said. “We were open. We talked a lot and went back and forth on opinions on what plays I liked. …
“That’s when I realized that (Texas Tech) was the right spot for me and it felt like I was going to be at home.”
Mayfield led the Red Raiders to a 5-0 record, and the team moved into the top 20 in the Associated Press poll. But he was injured in that fifth game, replaced by fellow freshman Davis Webb, and would never regain the starting quarterback position.
“I went from being the guy for Coach Kingsbury and then when I got hurt it just changed a little bit … not a little bit, a lot,” Mayfield said.
“All the sudden it was as if I hadn’t played for him, hadn’t done anything for him. It was just different after I got hurt,” he said.
Even though he would earn the Big 12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year award, Mayfield learned that Texas Tech was revoking his scholarship for the following season.
“I’ve invested a lot into this and now you’re telling me you don’t have a scholarship for a guy who won five games after choosing to come here?” he said. “That was the final straw for me.”
Mayfield cited “miscommunication” with the coaching staff as his reason for wanting to leave, and he did just that by transferring to Oklahoma.
Kingsbury caught wind of Mayfield’s comments and issued a statement to TMZ Sports in which he didn’t dispute the scholarship question or discuss Mayfield’s reasons for leaving Texas Tech.
“I’ve always been a huge fan of Baker and loved working with him,” the coach said. “He had an incredible career at Oklahoma, and I wish him nothing but continued success as he begins his NFL career.”
Mayfield walked on at Oklahoma and walked out as the Heisman Trophy winner. He is believed to be the first Heisman winner to ever start his career as a walk-on.
Mayfield certainly didn’t have to go the undrafted route to reach the NFL as he was the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft. He is the 21st Heisman winner to be the first pick in the draft, the last six of which have all been quarterbacks.
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