Baker Mayfield grabbed his crotch at Kansas on Saturday and the fallout is still being felt in Oklahoma. Berry Tramel, the sports writer of record in Oklahoma, called for Mayfield to be suspended from the West Virginia game on Saturday.
Lincoln Riley didn't go that far, instead announcing that Mayfield will not serve as a team captain for his final home game and, in addition, will not start the game. Riley discussed the decision in front of the media on Monday and became emotional in the process.
"This decision was difficult for a lot of reasons," Riley said. "I told somebody earlier today I got in this profession and chose for two reasons: I love football, I love to coach it, I love the competitiveness of it, all that. And I love to the chance to work with young people, to help shape them. I think it's important for everybody here across the country to keep in perspective -- and we all lose it, I do to even though I work with them every day -- not just Baker, but all these players across the country are still young men. They're not adults yet. They're still in that phase where they're going to make mistakes, and the important thing is that you learn from them and grow from them. I think what we're setting forward here is going to prove Baker an opportunity to do that. It's certainly going to get his attention and I think he will handle it the right way, just like he has just about everything here in his career.
"Despite this, no matter how long I go in coaching, whatever the rest of my career ends up being like, I don't know that I'll ever have a player that's as special to me as he is. And we've been through a lot together. He's a tremendous teammate, he's the best football player in America. He's got a great heart that a lot of people don't get the chance to see like I do, and I'm proud as hell to be his coach."
You can argue the first part of Riley's statement is a little overwrought -- there are plenty of high school freshmen that know better than to gesture with their crotch toward the opposing sideline, let alone 5th-year senior quarterbacks -- but I want you to focus on the end of Riley's first sentence in the bottom paragraph. It doesn't show up in the text, but the gap between "is" and "and" lasts for a full 35 seconds, from the 1:16 mark of the below video all the way to 1:51.
.@LincolnRiley on @baker_mayfield6pic.twitter.com/ZKyobimGdH
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) November 20, 2017
Mayfield arrived in Norman a year ahead of Riley, but the two have been linked at the hip since Riley first put on crimson. Riley is the only Oklahoma offensive coordinator Mayfield has ever known, and vice versa. And together the pair has combined to create the most efficient quarterback-play caller combination in college football history.
Just look at this resume:
- 756-of-1,082 passing (69.9 percent) for 11,481 yards (10.6 per attempt) with 110 touchdowns against 20 interceptions -- an insane 188.85 efficiency rating -- plus 822 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns
- 556 yards and 43.8 points per game and 7.49 yards per play
- A 32-5 record and 24-2 mark in Big 12 play, with two Big 12 championships, one College Football Playoff appearance, one Sugar Bowl victory, two Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year awards -- and counting
It's possible that Riley isn't Oklahoma's head coach today without Mayfield to execute his play calls, and it's a near certainty that Mayfield isn't a Heisman Trophy favorite and future NFL quarterback without Mayfield coaching him what to do.
It's a touching moment, a 35-second moment, with history behind it. And it's a very Baker Mayfield thing that it took a crotch grab to prompt it.
