Oklahoma football may take a step back with the departure of Baker Mayfield. Who will the Sooners ask to fill the void of the Heisman Trophy winner?
It will be tough for the Oklahoma Sooners to return to the College Football Playoff next season. The biggest reason is the loss of quarterback Baker Mayfield to the NFL Draft. It is insane to think Mayfield can just be replaced. A player of Mayfield’s caliber does not come along often, but head coach Lincoln Riley does have some options.
The most logical option is redshirt sophomore Kyler Murray. The former five-star recruit out of Texas transferred to Oklahoma from Texas A&M after the 2015 season. Murray played in eight games for the Aggies, completing just under 60 percent of his passes for 686 yards. He threw five touchdowns and seven interceptions.
After sitting out a year for the Sooners, he played sparingly in 2017 behind Mayfield. When Riley suspended Mayfield for part of the West Virginia game due to his actions in the previous game against Kansas, Murray got the start. For the season, he completed 18 of his 21 throws and threw three touchdowns and no interceptions. In the start against the Mountaineers, he rushed for 80 yards on only three carries.
While Murray may seem like the heir apparent to the quarterback spot, he should at least have to earn the position in the spring. Austin Kendall was Mayfield’s backup in 2016, but he was redshirted in 2017 after losing the backup spot to Murray. So far there has been no word on Kendall transferring, so it is expected he will compete again for the starting job.
The Sooners also just signed four star dual threat Tanner Mordecai. While Mordecai is not expected to compete for the job as a true freshman, he might not take a redshirt year and serve as backup, especially if Kendall does eventually transfer.
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While it is not a given, it does seem in all likelihood Kyler Murray will be the starter in Norman when the 2018 season kicks off. We will see if Murray can put up the same kind of numbers that his predecessor did.