Baker Mayfield’s ‘indescribable’ return at OU football’s spring game sees him ‘immortalized in bronze forever’

Baker Mayfield stood at midfield, savoring the moments that solidified him into Oklahoma lore. 

Mayfield gathered at the 50-yard line with his family, former coaches and fellow Heisman Trophy winners Kyler Murray, Jason White and Steve Owens during halftime of OU’s spring game on Saturday. 

Standing just 25 yards away from the commemorative field design honoring the former Heisman winner, Mayfield’s emotions caught up to him.

First, he watched his seven-yard touchdown pass to Dimitri Flowers that helped seal his come-from-behind victory against Baylor in 2015. Then, an 18-yard toss to Lee Morris to take the lead against Ohio State in Columbus in 2017. And finally, the board displayed Mayfield’s 59-yard strike to Mark Andrews against Texas that gave OU a lead it never relinquished.

After the elongated halftime celebration of his on-field play, Mayfield’s Heisman statue was undraped at Heisman Park for all to see.

“Wow,” he whispered to himself as the sculpture was shown on the video board. 

Saturday’s Heisman statue unveiling was a walk down memory lane for Mayfield. He congregated with the greats he grew up admiring as a young Sooners fan. He met with numerous former teammates that Oklahoma coach Brent Venables invited. And, most importantly, he re-lived the situations that molded him into his current persona.

“It really is special what this place has done and continues to do for the people that come in here and are able to impact it and leave a footprint on it,” Mayfield said after the game. “When you’re able to be around a bunch of guys that have been through it, and some of the greats to ever do it, that’s something that, until you’re in the middle of it, it’s indescribable.”

The record-breaking crowd of 75,360 screamed Mayfield’s name as he appeared from Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium’s southeast tunnel with a microphone in hand. 

Just after Mayfield addressed the roaring crowd, he made his way to the sidelines to interact with the fans that treated the kid from Austin, home of the Longhorns, like their own. He signed the jersey of a child wearing his No. 6 and took so many pictures with other patrons that they lasted well into the third quarter of the spring game.

He also met with the women’s gymnastics team, which, despite its recent national championship, was just as starstruck as the child who met Mayfield. They handed him a signed poster before each of the gymnasts took an individual picture with him. 

Mayfield’s return to home was therapeutic for the now-NFL veteran who doesn’t know where his next stop will be. After the Cleveland Browns traded for and signed a new starter in Deshaun Watson, Mayfield faces uncertainty of where he’ll suit up next. 

The NFL draft starts on April 28, and with teams deciding whether to draft a quarterback, perhaps Mayfield will learn his next team in the coming weeks.

“In the process of where I’m at right now, not knowing the next landing spot, to be able to come back, just potentially a week prior to wherever I’m going to find out, it’s pretty cool to come back to wherever it started,” Mayfield said. “It’s a good reset to be around friends, family, loved ones. Just to have that home base (and) always have that place to come back to that you can lean on is pretty cool.”

While one of Mayfield’s former coaches, Bob Stoops, was in attendance for his ceremony, Lincoln Riley wasn’t due to the now-Southern California coach regulating his own spring game. Instead of reuniting with his collegiate mentor, Mayfield spent parts of the weekend getting to know Venables, OU’s leader for the next era.

On Friday, Mayfield spent close to 30 minutes conversing with Venables inside the coach’s office. Mayfield gave Venables his stamp of approval despite just 30 minutes of talking and said he’d “run through a brick wall for the guy.”

On the same day, Mayfield spoke to the current team and offered insight that he hopes sticks with the next generation of Sooners. The 27-year-old said he still doesn’t have everything figured out, according to sophomore defensive end Ethan Downs, but was honest about his recent weeks of unsteadiness surrounding his professional career.

One of Mayfield’s points in his speech stuck with senior receiver Theo Wease, who has experienced his own ups and downs. Wease caught a 48-yard pass on Saturday in the first game-like atmosphere he has experienced as a fully healthy player since 2020.

“When you’re at your highest you can always go back down to your lowest,” Wease remembered Mayfield saying to the team. 

Mayfield’s sentiments also resonated with Venables, who spoke to the importance of building the foundation of OU’s program after the Red team defeated the White team 21-17. 

“For him to be vulnerable in front of the team and give his testimony,” Venables said. “And in front of the guys left, (he) held no punches back. It was awesome. And a great message for guys. He was a great example for guys.”

Mayfield’s statue depicted his signature headband, a replica of which was handed out for free to fans at Saturday’s game. He said he was given a few options on the pose for his statue, and his answer was simple. 

And no, the famous flag plant wasn’t an option. Mayfield said athletic director Joe Castiglione likes to “keep it appropriate.”

“I thought, no better way to keep a statue in the state of Oklahoma than for it to be a stiff arm of your little brother,” Mayfield said of his pose, which came against Oklahoma State, OU’s bitter in-state rival. “Forever, they have to deal with that one.”

Minutes after Mayfield signed those jerseys and took those pictures, he disappeared into the southwest tunnel. Despite not knowing what’s next in his playing career, one thing is for certain: Norman will forever be welcoming of the player who went from walk-on to Heisman winner to  No. 1 pick.

Or as Castiglione put it, where he became “immortalized in bronze forever.”