LOS ANGELES — Baker Mayfield showed up casually late — about 20 minutes — unannounced no less, to Saturday’s Rose Bowl Media Day.
The Oklahoma quarterback's grand entrance to silence the outside noise and doubts whether he will play in Monday’s Rose Bowl Game was exactly what the Heisman Trophy winner needed to do after missing multiple public appearances this week while battling “flu-like” symptoms.
“When it comes down to it, it’s not going to alter my play,” Mayfield said with a hoarse voice, still clearly under the weather. “I’ll still be out there on Monday for the most important thing.”
In his hotel room Saturday morning, Mayfield flipped on the TV, seeing reports he would once again be a "no show."
“That’s when I realized this isn’t about me. It’s about Oklahoma,” Mayfield said. “My teammates shouldn’t have to answer questions on my behalf.”
While sipping on his honey-lemon-coffee combo to alleviate his raspy, almost inaudible voice, Mayfield spoke to reporters in a large ballroom with every set of eyes glued on him.
“I’m not dying,” Mayfield said. “I’m not dead, but I’m not 100 percent. Yesterday I felt great — best I’ve felt in a while.”
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said Mayfield’s energy level is not normal for him right now but knows there is still time for him to hit those peak levels before kickoff.
“Will he be at 100 percent physically? We’ll see,” Riley said. “But he’s not going to miss this one.”
Georgia coach Kirby Smart knows he’s going to get Mayfield’s best. Sickness won’t keep a player of his caliber and chip-on-his-shoulder mindset from playing in a game of this magnitude.
“I’m willing to bet he’s going to be ready to go,” Smart said. “The guy is a winner. He’s a gunslinger. He is every defensive coordinator’s worst nightmare.”
Mayfield said it wasn’t the flu but it was flu-like, something he’s been battling since coming back home from Austin, Texas after celebrating Christmas with family.
“He’s not trying to hide from anybody,” Riley said. “I think he wanted to throw everyone a bone. He didn’t have to come. I told him if he was well enough to do it. If he wasn’t, don’t (come). So I guess he is well enough.”
Mayfield has practiced every day, but barking out call signals and cadence issues is still up in the air for the game. Riley made no comment on that front, but you can be sure he has a backup plan is in place should Mayfield’s voice not be up to par.
“My voice sounds like this right now because I was yelling at practice yesterday,” Mayfield said.
Mayfield is fine. So are the Sooners, as the team was in light spirits with their quarterback alongside them in public once more.
“I told him to stop being a sissy,” senior teammate and linebacker Ogbonnia Okoronkwo said with a laugh. “There’s nothing wrong with that kid.”
While Mayfield receives so much of the limelight — and rightfully so given the fact he’s the Heisman Trophy winner — this is more than just about Mayfield. There is no I in team, and Mayfield knows that.
That’s why he showed up out of the blue at the L.A. Hotel Downtown on Saturday morning after missing the team Disneyland trip, Lawry’s Beef Bowl and other scheduled presser appearances.
Mayfield brings a special edge to his teammates when he’s around. It’s part of his polarizing nature.
“His fire burns pretty hot, as we all know,” Riley said. “I don’t know that I’m concerned. He’ll be ready to play.”
Though the Sooners are confident heading into their clash with Georgia, a motivational surprise from Mayfield to light the fire one more time may be just what the team needed for its toughest test of the season to date.
“If he had been a guy that nobody had ever talked to, I would understand it,” Riley said. “He’s been interviewed by I think every single reporter on the face of the earth over the past six months. I mean, he’s not answering anything that he hasn’t answered a hundred times before.”
As of the time he spoke Saturday morning, Mayfield had a little more than a 48-hour window before kickoff. The Heisman winner may not be his usual self, but he’s nearing it once more.
“He’s just battling through it and trying to turn the corner,” Riley said. “I don’t think he’s far away from turning the corner but still hasn’t done it yet.”