Baker Mayfield acknowledges conflicted view of college football's transfer portal

Former Oklahoma star quarterback Baker Mayfield transferred during his college football career.

Mayfield went from Texas Tech to Oklahoma following the 2013 season and ended up winning the Heisman trophy during his time with the Sooners.

Still, Mayfield joined The Pat McAfee Show on Friday ahead of Saturday’s Red River Showdown between Texas and OU and shared that he has mixed emotions about the transfer portal.

“I don’t love it, to be honest with you,” Baker Mayfield said. “But I think it’s fair, though. Coaches can up and move whenever they want.”

Mayfield believes that both players and schools can benefit from the transfer portal, depending on the situation. If a player feels that they need a change of scenery, they can leave. At the same time, if a coach has a player he isn’t happy with, he can try to force him out.

“I think it’s a good opportunity for guys that, say they missed on a recruit, all you have to do now is treat them poorly and they’ll transfer,” Baker Mayfield said. “So it’s a good opportunity for kids to get out there and have a better place.”

Mayfield was excellent during his one season starting at Texas Tech, earning Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year honors in 2013.

After transferring to Oklahoma, Mayfield started for the Sooners in 2015, 2016 and 2017. He had excellent seasons in 2015 and 2016, before winning the Heisman trophy and being named the best player in college football in 2017.

Baker Mayfield amped for Oklahoma in Year 2 under Brent Venables: ‘Venables is a dawg’

Baker Mayfield will be the celebrity guest picker on ESPN College GameDay on Saturday. It shouldn’t be hard to figure out who he will take to win the game.

Mayfield spoke on the Pat McAfee Show about his love for the Sooners and second-year head coach Brent Venables.

“I’m excited. You know, last year obviously wasn’t a good year for them. Lost so many guys to the transfer portal. But Venables is a dawg,” Mayfield said. “He’s got that defense playing with their hair on fire, and that’s the best way that he knows how to do it, and our offense can score on anybody.

“So I mean, I’m looking forward to the matchup of our offensive group against their defense, because I don’t think either has seen the competition that they’re going to see tomorrow.”

The two rivals will face off at Noon on Saturday. The game will be televised by ABC.