Two years ago, Texas Tech didn’t think Baker Mayfield was good enough to earn a scholarship but he was more than good enough to play. Mayfield led Texas Tech to a 7-0 start as an unrecruited freshman walk-on.
As that unrecruited walk-on, Mayfield became the Big 12 offensive freshman of the year. Today, as Oklahoma's quarterback, he is in line to play for a national championship. He just finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting.
The school that needed that unrecruited walk-on to bail them out would not let go. In fact, Texas Tech has more control over an All-America caliber quarterback -- more than 24 months in the team's rear-view mirror -- than anyone except perhaps Mayfield’s parents.
The NCAA, the conference, and the school -- specifically coach Kliff Kingsbury -- would not sign off on Mayfield getting a fourth year of eligibility in 2017. The Red Raiders did not provide him with the opportunity to use a one-time transfer exception. Oh sure, they can hide behind Big 12 and NCAA rules, but the fact remains.
By not signing off on waiving Mayfield’s redshirt year after he transferred to Oklahoma in 2014, none of them agreed to do the right thing.
About the only reason any of it matters now is the former walk-on is suddenly All-America worthy. If Mayfield was a third-stringer, you have to doubt any of it would be an issue.
As it stands, it looks petty, vindictive ... and completely by the book.
Big 12 rules call for intra-conference transfers to lose a year of eligibility. It gets complicated when you consider Mayfield was a free agent his entire time at Tech -- bound to the school by exactly nothing except those rules.
He had not only lost the starting job for the bowl game after that 2013 season, there was no clear guarantee if and when Mayfield was getting that scholarship.
This crisis comes down to a basic moral question: What right does Tech have to control the college career of a now-star player they didn’t think enough of to buy books for?
Being a free agent has been anything but free.
As Mayfield’s career is blowing up, it could be ending abruptly when his eligibility suddenly expires after the 2016 season. Some of this is thanks to short-sighted and longstanding NCAA bylaw. Some of this is thanks a school that couldn’t or wouldn’t find room for a walk-on who got most of his recruiting interest from Florida Atlantic.
One who then helped the Red Raiders to an eight-win season -- still the best of Kingsbury’s short head-coaching career.
Mayfield’s circumstances and departure should have made him that free agent -- at least transfer-wise. Instead, he remains held hostage in a frustrating situation.
If he can’t play, he can’t beat Texas Tech (at least in 2017).
It looks like the quarterback, his family and Oklahoma are out of options. Even if Texas Tech were somehow convinced to do the right thing and grant the transfer exemption, it could not retroactively be applied.
“I’m not aware of any [options],” Big 12 spokesman Bob Burda said.
Not many folks are talking. Mayfield’s family has hired high-powered attorney Jim Darnell from El Paso. (Check his bonafides repping Johnny Manziel.)
The Big 12 faculty athletic representatives who denied an appeal in May won’t so much as reveal the vote totals against Mayfield’s request. All we know is that it was a majority, at least 6-4 against.
Those FARs are supposed to be a moral conscious of fair treatment of the student-athlete. In this case, they’re hiding behind their votes.
As with most cases like this, the right thing to do gets lost in the crossfire. No doubt, Big 12 and NCAA officials are worried an exemption for Mayfield will open some sort of loophole -- except that none of us can remember many unrecruited walk-ons becoming All-Americans.
Mayfield deserves better. Mayfield deserves that exemption. If he is truly done after next season, the only winners are Kingsbury and Tech.
Kingsbury doesn’t even have to say out loud he has no desire to face Mayfield two more times. He’s a coach. That concern has to play into this. In October, Mayfield threw for two touchdowns in a 63-27 win over the Red Raiders.
We have no idea what level of animosity -- if any -- exists between Mayfield and Kingsbury. Baker’s father, James, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. The Oklahoman reported Mayfield left after 2013 “because of issues with” Kingsbury.
But that’s kind of the point. None of that matters. Shouldn’t the best interest of the athlete hold sway here? Mayfield is the guy who (next to) no one wanted out of high school. Mayfield is the one who stepped up when injuries left Kingsbury with no other options in 2013, becoming the first true freshman walk-on quarterback to start a season for a BCS school.
"We didn't envision this when he came on campus,” Kingsbury said that night.
Oklahoma isn’t blameless here. Mayfield grew up a Sooners fan. During an unofficial visit in high school, Mayfield’s dad said Oklahoma coaches were “unimpressed.”
That’s on Bob Stoops and his staff. Given a second chance, they cashed in. Mayfield is on scholarship at OU. Whether Kingsbury had a scholarship available isn’t really relevant. Texas Tech shouldn’t have this much control over a walk-on. No one should.
The NCAA allows a one-time transfer exemption for walk-ons if the former school approves. Tech did not certify in writing that it had no objection that Mayfield to be eligible right away at OU in 2014, according to The Oklahoman.
That essentially sealed Mayfield’s fate. He should be a redshirt sophomore with two years of eligibility remaining. Instead, he was left with three years of eligibility in a four-year period.
And you wonder why the modern college athlete feels more empowered? Northwestern players considered unionization. Last month, those Missouri players threatened a boycott unless the system president was removed.
In September, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby warned of the future speaking to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
“There will be a day in the future when the popcorn is popped, the TV cameras are there, the fans are in the stands and the team decides they’re not going to play,” Bowlsby said. “Mark my words.”
In this case, beer doesn’t necessarily lead to heroin. But Mayfield situation’s certainly doesn’t further the current trend of liberating the athlete.
An NCAA committee continues to work on loosening those transfer restrictions. It’s complicated starting with the fact millionaire coaches can leave anytime they want.
Meanwhile, Mayfield remains strangely bound to the school that used him up as a street free agent. And then used him to further their own interests.
All by the book, mind you.
