The Oklahoma Air Raid offense produced a season-opening 439 passing yards, more than in any game in the 2014 season, and Jarvis Baxter was on the receiving end of five of the 42 passes thrown in the game by OU quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Trevor Knight.
On Oklahoma’s very first offensive play after receiving the opening kickoff, Mayfield took the snap from center Ty Darlington and fired a strike to Baxter that went for 15 yards and a first down and set the Sooner offense up at the Akron 44-yard line.
The pass completion caught most Sooner fans by surprise. Not because OU began the 2015 season in offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley much publicized Air Raid offense with a pass play, but because the name of the player on the receiving end of Mayfield’s first pass as a Sooner quarterback was an unfamiliar one.
Apr 11, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners safety Dede Westbrook (11) reaches for the end zone during the spring football game at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports
And the Oklahoma fans weren’t the only one’s scratching their heads. Ron Thulin, the play-by-play announcer on the pay-for-view TV coverage of the OU-Akron game called the play as a completed pass to Sooner receiver K.J. Young. The problem was that Baxter was wearing the No. 1 jersey worn last season by Young, who was dismissed from the team in the offseason.
A junior-college transfer, Baxter’s route to Norman has been a circuitous one. Because of his height (listed liberally at 5-11), he attracted little if any attention at the major-college level coming out of high school in the Dallas suburb of Garland. Baxter ended up committing to play for nearby SMU, but he ended up going to Trinity Valley Community College.
Baxter was named to the all-conference second team last season, and that brought interest from East Carolina, which is where Riley spent his last five seasons before departing for Oklahoma. East Carolina wanted to offer the promising young receiver a scholarship, but instead awarded its last available scholarship to another prospect.
Starting to get the picture?
With no other scholarship offers, Baxter ended up committing to South Florida, which is where he was headed just two months ago. The Oklahoma City Oklahoman reported that Baxter needed to pick up 12 hours in summer school to fulfill his academic eligibility requirements, which he completed this summer at Trinity Valley, only to find out afterward that South Florida would only accept nine hours of summer-school credit.
South Florida released Baxter from his letter of intent, and his search for another place to play college football circled back to square one. That is when Baxter contacted a former community college rival and fellow wide receiver, Dede Westbrook, who signed with the Sooners as a member of Bob Stoops’ 2015 recruiting class.
Baxter and Westbrook had become closer through social media, and Westbrook reached out to Riley, his new offensive coordinator at OU, to let him know of his friend’s availability.
Sep 5, 2015; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) runs with the ball while being pursued by Oklahoma Sooners linebacker Tay Evans (9) during the first quarter at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
“We liked his film (at East Carolina). Thought he was a good player,” Riley told Oklahoman sports columnist Berry Tramel this week. “Thought he was a little under-recruited at the time, which a lot of small receiver are.
“When the chance of getting Baxter to OU arrived,” he said, “knowing our receiver situation, that we could use some guys, especially a guy this year, I said, ‘damn right I’m interested.'”
The Sooners made an offer to Baxter to come play for OU, but it did not include a scholarship, at least not immediately. He would have to wait until January if that was going to happen. Despite the financial burden of having to pay his way for at least a semester, Baxter did not hesitate to accept Oklahoma’s offer.
So far, it’s turned out to be a win-win for both sides.
Another Sooner who was happy to see Baxter join the team was Mayfield. “His first day, we looked around and were like, ‘Where the heck did he come from and why hasn’t he been here?'” Mayfield told the Oklahoman’s Tramel. “We knew right away that he was a playmaker.”
Baxter went to an Oklahoma-Texas A&M game when he was a junior in high school and loved it, but the Sooners never recruited him. Funny how things have a way of working out sometimes.
Baxter worked hard in the Sooners’ preseason training camp, and when the depth chart was posted prior to the Akron season opener, he found his name as one of the first-team receivers.
The junior receiver was in awe coming out of the tunnel last Saturday evening, hearing the excitement of the crowd and taking in the spectacle of a home game at one of the nation’s most spirited and historic venues in all of college football. It was a wonder he even heard the signals called in the Oklahoma huddle on the team’s opening possession.
It was a pass play, and Baxter was the first or second option. “I thought it was a good chance it’s coming to me,” he told the Oklahoman. “Got me more anxious, waiting for that pass. I turned around, the ball was there, and it was me.”
Baxter was the Sooners leading receiver in the Akron game with his five receptions.
What a way to start out a whole new career as a starting receiver for one of the most accomplished college football programs.