30 college football players with the biggest shoes to fill in 2018

Shoes to Fill: Baker Mayfield

It’s never easy to replace a legend, and Baker Mayfield, already Sooners folk hero, reached legendary status in Norman after winning the 2017 Heisman Trophy. Mayfield guided Oklahoma to three Big 12 titles in three years as a starter and helped lead OU to two College Football Playoff berths. Though he couldn’t get the Sooners over the national championship hump, Mayfield put together one of the best college careers of all time.

Including his 2013 freshman season at Texas Tech, Mayfield threw for 14,607 passing yards and 131 touchdowns, which rank third and second in Big 12 history, respectively, and No. 7 and No. 4 on the FBS all-time leaderboard. Mayfield set the Big 12 career record for yards per pass attempt (9.8) and touchdowns responsible for (153) and finished No. 2 in NCAA history with a 175.4 passing efficiency rating.

But Mayfield was much more than a productive passer and playmaker, he was also the emotional leader for the program. Put it all together, and Mayfield’s graduation makes him arguably the most difficult player in the nation to replace in 2018. But Oklahoma has a plan.

Kyler Murray was a five-star recruit and high school football legend who signed with Texas A&M in 2015, and like Mayfield forced his way to the top of the depth chart. Also, like his fellow Texan Mayfield, Murray left the Lone Star State for Oklahoma and waited patiently for his chance to play.

In seven games as a third-year sophomore in 2017, Murray completed 18 of 21 pass attempts (85.7 percent) for 359 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. A dynamic runner, Murray also averaged 10.1 yards per carry, gaining 142 rushing yards on just 14 attempts.

Mayfield’s Heisman-winning shoes are very big, but Murray has the skillset to keep Oklahoma’s string of conference titles alive, and it shouldn’t be a surprise if he leads the Sooners back to the playoff in 2018.