Ex-Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield Thinks Sooners Will Keep Improving Under Brent Venables

NORMAN — The Sooners’ first season in the SEC didn’t go as planned, as they finished 6-7 and won only two conference games.

Even after that dismal first campaign in the league, OU legend Baker Mayfield still believed that coach Brent Venables was the right man to lead the Sooners back to the promised land.

“I have a lot of faith,” Mayfield said in July 2025 at his youth camp in Norman.

Mayfield was back in town to host the same youth camp on Saturday. And after OU went 10-3 and reached the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019, Mayfield’s level of belief has only increased.

“I think BV has them going,” Mayfield said.

It’s been nearly a decade since Mayfield last played at Oklahoma. But the quarterback still considers Norman to be his home.

He enrolled at OU in 2014 after spending one season as a walk-on at Texas Tech. After sitting out of the 2014 season, Mayfield became a star over the next three years.

The Austin, TX, native led the Sooners to a 33-6 record during his time as the starting quarterback. In 2017, he took Oklahoma to the College Football Playoff and won the Heisman Trophy, finishing that season with 4,627 yards, 43 touchdowns and six interceptions on a 70.5 completion percentage.

Mayfield got his team to the CFP when only four teams qualified for it. The Sooners didn’t make it to the semifinals in 2025 like Mayfield and the 2017 team did.

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But Mayfield sees the Sooners’ recent 10-3 campaign against formidable SEC competition as a step in the right direction.

“Obviously SEC ball’s different, week in and week out, you have to bring your ‘A’ game,” Mayfield said. “There are no weeks off there. I have a lot of faith.”

While Mayfield is, of course, an offensive star, he applauded the defense’s performance last year. The Sooners ranked first in the SEC in scoring defense (15.2 points allowed per game), total defense (272.5 yards allowed per game) and sacks (45).

Even though OU will be without some of the key pieces from last year’s defense — like R Mason Thomas, Gracen Halton, Kendal Daniels and Robert Spears-Jennings — Mayfield is confident that Venables’ defensive genius will allow the unit to be similarly stingy in 2026.

“The toughness, obviously the defense was unbelievable,” Mayfield said. “Lost some really good players, but I know he knows how to recruit and bring guys in to fill those roles.”

In 2025, OU quarterback John Mateer suffered a thumb injury that forced him to undergo surgery, and his production dipped upon returning. The Sooners also saw several key offensive pieces — like running backs Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock, wide receiver Javonnie Gibson and offensive lineman Jake Maikkula — miss time due to injuries.

Even so, Oklahoma made it to the CFP and put together its best season since the COVID-19 pandemic.

As an NFL veteran entering his ninth year, Mayfield has played on teams that experienced widespread “injury bugs.” Mayfield believes that the circumstances the 2025 Sooners had to overcome will allow them to be an even stronger team in 2026.

“That was painful to watch, but I’ve been there,” Mayfield said. “I think it’ll make them better in the long run.”

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