WATCH: Baker Mayfield gives emotional speech to Oklahoma fans after statue reveal
Baker Mayfield will always hold a special place in the hearts of Oklahoma fans, and that was on display Saturday at the annual spring game in Norman. With more than 75,000 people in attendance, the Sooners unveiled a statue of the star quarterback at its “Heisman Park” on campus.
Mayfield joins fellow OU Heisman winners Billy Vessels, Steve Owens, Billy Sims, Jason White and Sam Bradford as players who have statues. At halftime of the spring game, Mayfield addressed the crowd, giving a heartfelt speech in which he described what the moment meant to him.
“This is home and it’ll always be home,” Mayfield said. “I dreamt of having a statue right there and now I do. It blows my mind. It’s so surreal. I have a ton of former teammates and obviously my family here. So many people that allowed me to chase my dream and left a footprint on my life so I could live out those dreams. Joe (Castiglione) and Bob (Stoops) allowed me to come here and be the best version of myself. Before that I had my family supporting me every step of the way, We talked about that and it was pretty crazy that it happened. We were a part of Sooner Nation because of how you guys welcomed us in, and we’re very appreciative of that.”
Before joining Oklahoma, Baker Mayfield was a walk-on at Texas Tech, where he became the first walk-on true freshman to start a FBS season opener at the quarterback position. He later joined the Sooners as a transfer in January 2014, and the rest is history.
After sitting out the 2014 season, Mayfield went on to star over the next three years in Norman. He ended his Oklahoma career with 12,292 yards passing and 119 touchdowns, both of which rank second in program history behind Landry Jones. During the 2017 season, Mayfield finished with 4,627 yards, 43 touchdowns and just six interceptions as he was named the Heisman Trophy winner. He directed the Sooners to the College Football Playoff, where they lost in the semifinals to Georgia.
Mayfield expressed gratitude for how fans and staff accepted him upon his arrival in Norman, recalling the moment he received an autograph from Steve Owens
“The first-ever autographed item I got from a former Oklahoma player, I got it in the mail from Tinker Owens,” the quarterback said. “He sent his autograph and also Steve Owens’ autograph. So sitting down here with you is pretty special. That’s full circle. I watched Jason White growing up. I thought I was gonna be a running back, but I was wrong. This legacy that I was able to live out here and create, I’m so thankful for my guys, the people that impacted me. You know how I feel about them. I love everybody that helped me out so much. I’d take a bullet for them and I mean that.”
Oklahoma is set to enter the inaugural season of the Brent Venables era in 2022 after Lincoln Riley, Mayfield’s coach for his Heisman-winning season, left for USC. Mayfield expressed confidence in where the program is headed under Venables, encouraging Sooners fans that this is just the beginning of another special story in Norman.
“This place is headed in the right direction,” Mayfield said. I got to talk to Brent (Venables) yesterday for about 30 minutes alone in his office. I was ready to run through a wall. We’re back. We’ve never left, but we’re back. It’s pretty stressful to have this place packed like this for a moment like this, but it’s also pretty rare. Thank you guys for coming out and letting me live out my dreams. I love Sooner Nation, but we have another celebration next year. This place is special.”