Some saw Baker Mayfield's Heisman potential early
by Berry Tramel Published: December 27, 2017
NORMAN — Riley Nolan had a prediction after going home from the first OU practice of 2014 that included the scout team.
Nolan told his dad that the new quarterback would someday win the Heisman Trophy. Larry Nolan laughed.
Larry Nolan is laughing still, only now at his son's prescience.
Mayfield has gone from mimicking Louisiana Tech's quarterback for the 2014 season opener to leading the Sooners into the national semifinal Rose Bowl against Georgia. It's been a remarkable four years for Mayfield. Three Heisman-contending seasons and one year spent running the opponent's offense in practice.
“The first day when we actually had pads on, he came into our scout team, and I wouldn't say torched, but we pretty much handled our defense with Baker at the reins,” Nolan said. “Pretty crazy deal.”
Scout teams can be the hidden gem of a squad. If they can give their offense or defense a reasonable facsimile of the upcoming opponent, practice becomes much more productive. Most scout teams are made up of seldom-used backups or redshirting players. Few scout teams have a difference-making quarterback. Safe to say no scout team ever had a quarterback like Mayfield, who came to OU without a scholarship but as the reigning Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year.
Riley Nolan was a non-scholarship player himself. A Norman North graduate who spent a year as an offensive lineman at Missouri Southern before transferring to OU and serving three years on the scout team. Riley never got into a game but says he wouldn't trade his experience for anything. And that includes serving on a scout team that included Mayfield, tight end Mark Andrews and offensive tackle Orlando Brown, All-Americans all.
“After the very first practice, I told my dad, ‘Man, Baker's a special player; I think someday he'll win the Heisman,'” Nolan said. “It was obviously a long shot.”
Heck, winning the OU job in 2015 was a long shot. Mayfield showed up in the wake of Trevor Knight's Sugar Bowl-for-the-ages against Alabama. A long shot to us. Not to the guys who saw Mayfield's stardust early.
“Everyone kind of rallied around him,” Nolan said. “No one ever really missed a beat. He was one of the guys right off the bat, everyone knew what he was capable of.”
And Nolan says Mayfield's leadership came through immediately. The team was drawn to Knight, too, but Nolan said Mayfield won players over immediately.
“He basically was a guy that was liked by everyone on the team,” Nolan said. “It was pretty cool. Baker's one of those guys, he's a competitor, has a relentless fiery passion about him. (But) just always good to everyone, didn't matter if you were a walk-on, didn't matter if you were a stud running back, he was always in your corner. I always appreciated Baker for that. Made me and all the other walk-ons feel like we were a true part of the team.”
That was a heck of a 2014 scout team. Mayfield at quarterback. Dorial Green-Beckham a wide receiver, his only year at OU. Andrews. Brown. Jonathan Alvarez. Alex Dalton. Nick Basquine. Enough talent to keep Mike Stoops fuming.
“It was a lot of athletes,” said rush end Obo Okoronkwo, a freshman back in 2014. “That scout team could have went out here and competed for something.”
Mayfield said the chemistry and friendships that are cornerstones of the Rose Bowl team sprouted from that scout team.
“We had quite the squad,” Mayfield said. “It's weird to think that three of our top guys were on the same scout team, but that's what you like to see. You want to be in a program where guys come in and not everybody plays right away, but if you stick to it, the good things come and you can learn from everybody.
“You realize it's a special group when you have chemistry like that. I think it was developed then and it's just carried through. We've been through a lot together. The guys that have been in this program the last three or four years have seen it all, pretty much. That's good. When you go through things together, you build strong relationships, and that can carry you through things that talent can't.”
Mayfield used that scout-team season to build the foundation of a career that is without parallel in Oklahoma history. And to launch a Heisman Trophy campaign that some saw coming early.