Why Baker Mayfield Will Win the Sooner Starting QB Job

Bob Stoops contends that the decision on who will start at quarterback for the Sooners in the coming season has not yet been made and that competition in preseason fall practice sessions will answer the question of Baker Mayfield or Trevor Knight.

Knight, a redshirt junior, has started 15 games over his first two seasons at Oklahoma. With the exception of his seemingly out-of-body performance in leading the Sooners to its stunning 14-point win over mighty Alabama in the 2014 Sugar Bowl, Knight’s time as the OU starting QB has been more of the pedestrian variety than anything else.

In the Sugar Bowl victory over the Crimson Tide, Knight threw four touchdown passes and completed 75 percent of his passes against one of the stingiest defensive teams in the nation. As much as Sooner fans want to think otherwise, though, that one game appeared to display the then redshirt freshman at his absolute best.

Nov 16, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) throws a pass against the Baylor Bears in the game at AT&T Stadium. Baylor beat Texas Tech 63-34. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Before suffering a potentially career-ending neck injury against Baylor in the Sooners ninth game last season, Knight had completed less than 60 percent of his pass attempts and passed for just 14 touchdowns to go with 9 interceptions. By comparison former OU quarterback Landry Jones, who preceded Knight in the role, threw for almost twice as many TDs and 900 more yards in his freshman year alone.

Mayfield, who is competing with Knight for the starting role this season, played one season at Texas Tech, as a freshman in 2013, before transferring to Oklahoma at the end of that season. The Austin, Texas-native started as a walk-on for the Red Raiders his freshman year. Although his overall stats that season were not that dramatically different than Knight’s, Mayfield led Tech to wins in its first seven games that season before falling, ironically, to OU in a surprisingly close contest.

Where Mayfield and Knight are much different is in their style of play. The quick-footed and shifty Knight is much better with his feet and seems to work more effectively in a zone-read type of offense, which is what Bob Stoops and offensive coordinator Josh Heupel were attempting to run more of on offense the past two seasons in an effort to take advantage of Knight’s ability and strengths in running a zone-read, option offense and make plays with his feet as well as his arm.

Dec 29, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Trevor Knight (9) hands off the ball to running back Samaje Perine (32) during the first quarter of the 2014 Russell Athletic Bowl against the Clemson Tigers at Florida Citrus Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

After Knight sustained a couple of leg injuries while running with the ball his freshman season, the Sooners began limiting designed running plays with Knight as the ball carrier. What that also did, however, was limit the Sooner offense because of Knight’s accuracy inconsistencies in connecting with his receivers.

Mayfield thrived early on at Texas Tech operating in the Red Raiders’ quick-strike, air-raid passing game. OU’s new offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley was an assistant at Tech under Mike Leach when Leach installed his prolific, pass-heavy offensive attack. Under that explosive offensive style, it didn’t seem to matter who was at quarterback for the Red Raiders, they were able to slice up opposing defenses as in death by a thousand cuts, piling up the yards and points aplenty in the process.

Riley took that offensive plan and mindset to East Carolina, where he served as the head coach the past five seasons. Last season, East Carolina ranked third in the country in passing offense (372 yards per game) and fifth in total offense (533 ypg).

It has been highly productive and effective everywhere he has run it, and Riley is bringing that same offensive mindset to OU. Stoops said he likes the way his new offensive coordinator has shown an ability to adjust his system based on the personnel he has.

Mayfield will win the quarterback job because he is the better fit in Riley’s style of offense. Mayfield is familiar with the air-raid attack offensive system and, frankly, he is the better passer between he and Knight. Mayfield had a most-impressive performance in the Sooners’ spring game a year ago, but was just so-so in the annual spring scrimmage this year.

In fairness to whoever the OU starting quarterback ends up being, if the Sooners don’t do a better job of surrounding him with receivers who can catch the ball, it won’t really matter who is under center.

Hopefully the offense will have senior wide receiver Sterling Shepard back for a full season in 2015, and the supporting cast should be better with returnees Durron Neal, the Sooners’ second leading receiver last season, Michiah Quick and Jeffery Mead and junior-college transfer Dede Westbrook.

They will get an additional boost in the receiving corps. when junior Jordan Smallwood returns from an ACL injury. He is expected to probably miss the first couple of games of the season.

The Big 12’s leading rusher in 2014, Samaje Perine, has shown he is capable of catching passes out of the backfield. Perine hauled in 15 pass receptions last season. Redshirt freshman Joe Mixon also possesses pass-catching ability, which will give the new OU offensive attack additional options out of the backfield.

“Lincoln brings a fresh perspective to our program,” Bob Stoops told Oklahoma City Oklahoman sportswriter Jason Kersey right after Riley was hired as the Sooners’ new offensive coordinator in January. “He owns a consistent track record of implementing innovative offensive concepts during his career and has a history of developing productive offensive players.”