Best Oklahoma football players: Modern-era Mount Rushmore

At the NFL level and even during his time in Norman, Baker Mayfield was a divisive figure. He’s brash, he’s cocky and he may not have the prototype quarterback frame. But if there are two things he did while quarterbacking the Sooners, it was put up a ton of numbers and win a lot of football games.

Mayfield spent his freshman year at Texas Tech but transferred after starting as a walk-on. He then walked on at Oklahoma and won the starting job again. And he wasted little time slinging the football all over the yard. He threw for 3,700 yards, 36 scores and only seven interceptions as a sophomore and followed that up with 3,965 yards and 40 touchdowns as a junior, rushing for a combined 13 touchdowns over those two years as well.

When Lincoln Riley took over in 2017, however, Mayfield submitted his best work yet. Completing over 70 percent of his passes for the second straight season, the quarterback threw for 4,627 yards, 43 touchdowns and only six interceptions, adding five rushing touchdowns as well. Not only did his performance lead the Sooners to the College Football Playoff but they earned Mayfield the 2017 Heisman Trophy as well.

Mayfield finished his time at Oklahoma ranked second in career passing yards and career passing touchdowns, trailing only Landry Jones, who played four years as the starter, and is the career leader for the Sooners in total touchdowns with 137. This all in three years. If he’s not on the Mount Rushmore, then it’s an incorrect assessment of how great he was.

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