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Sooners optimistic QB Mayfield (concussion) will play vs. Oklahoma State
NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma confirmed Monday that quarterback Baker Mayfield suffered a concussion in last weekend's win over TCU and the Sooners are optimistic he will be able to play in the Bedlam showdown against Oklahoma State on Saturday.
Mayfield took a helmet-to-helmet hit from linebacker Ty Summers early in the second quarter of Saturday's 30-29 win. Mayfield finished the quarter, but didn't play in the second half after acknowledging he had a headache.
Coach Bob Stoops said that the Heisman hopeful successfully went through concussion protocol on Sunday. He will be monitored the rest of the week to see if he'll be ready for the annual rivalry game against the Cowboys.
"If he continues this way with no issues, like he's had yesterday and so far today, then he is expected to play," Stoops said. "If he has a setback in any way with the protocol and the testing that our doctors and trainers do, he will not. To this point, it has all checked out well."
Mayfield said the headache went away right after halftime after he took a Tylenol.
Head athletic trainer Scott Anderson discussed the concussion and said Mayfield is improving.
"There's certainly room for optimism, but we do have a protocol we have to go through -- some serial testing and progressions of activity, and we're in the midst of that now," he said.
Mayfield has completed 69 percent of his passes, with 32 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also has 343 yards rushing and six TDs. He has made numerous electrifying plays scrambling, and that puts him at risk. He said he won't change his approach, and added that taking such hits comes with playing the sport.
"It wasn't like I got hit on a tackle where I should have slid," he said. "It was a guy that kind of turned me around, and then I got hit on the way down. It's not like it was my style of play that got me injured. It was a freaky hit."
Stoops would like Mayfield to be more careful.
"We'll talk to Baker about avoiding as many hits as he can, but he's fairly stubborn," Stoops said. "Hopefully, he'll go down when he can, get out of bounds when he can and avoid some of that."
Mayfield's availability could alter the college football landscape. Oklahoma led TCU 23-7 at halftime, but struggled after Trevor Knight took over at quarterback, and the Sooners barely hung on. Fifth-ranked Oklahoma (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) can clinch the Big 12 conference title with a victory over the ninth-ranked Cowboys (10-1, 7-1).
Mayfield said he had a concussion five years earlier in high school, but that one was more severe. He understood why he was taken out of Saturday's game, but it was tough to watch from the sideline as the Sooners struggled.
"They're being careful, and they care about my safety first, so I'm going to roll with that, even though I didn't agree with it at the time at all," he said. "I have to understand that they're doing their job, and I've got to follow that."
