{"id":2059,"date":"2016-03-09T13:42:09","date_gmt":"2016-03-09T19:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/?p=2059"},"modified":"2017-07-08T15:26:00","modified_gmt":"2017-07-08T20:26:00","slug":"concussions-major-concern-for-sooners-baker-mayfield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/?p=2059","title":{"rendered":"Concussions major concern for Sooners, Baker Mayfield"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Oklahoma Sooner quarterback Baker Mayfield suffered concussions in two\u00a0of his final three games last season.\u00a0 With the departure of their top two back-up signal callers, Trevor Knight to Texas A&M and Cody Thomas, to play baseball, OU will have a true freshman, Austin Kendall (Waxhall, NC), to fill in\u00a0as the number two man.\u00a0 Kendall has been\u00a0on campus during this semester and is getting second team reps this\u00a0Spring.\u00a0 Transfer Kyler Murray,\u00a0the much ballyhooed Texas A&M recruit of 2015, is on campus but is not eligible to play this season.<\/h5>\n

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Can Sooner coaches get Mayfield to alter his style of play, that of reckless abandoned?\u00a0 With Ohio State, one of the hardest hitting teams in the country in the second game of the season, he will be tested early.\u00a0 A third concussion could be a final blow for a title this year in Norman, both in conference and nationally.\u00a0 It also could be the end of his career.\u00a0 Continual brain bruises leave lasting effects and becoming loopy later in life is never a good thing.\u00a0If OU fans see Kendall in games that have not been decided, OU is not in a good place.\u00a0 That could be the end all of the Mayfield era in Norman.<\/h5>\n

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Can Mayfield make the necessary on-field changes in his play?\u00a0 The offense of Lincoln Riley (offensive coordinator)\u00a0is not changing, so it will be up to the All-American to adjust. As Riley stated yesterday (as of the Oklahoman newspaper):<\/h5>\n

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\u201cI can try and tell him, but it’s live by the sword and die by the sword,\u201d offensive coordinator\u00a0<\/span>Lincoln Riley\u00a0<\/span>said after Tuesday’s practice. \u201cIt’s what makes him a good player. You’ve gotta balance that. Are there times he cannot take an unnecessary shot? Of course. Those are the ones we’ll try and eliminate.<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n

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\u201cAt the same time, football is a dangerous game. If you play it hesitant or tentative, it doesn’t matter if he’s out there or standing next to me, it’s not gonna work.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n

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The Sooner chances for a return to the National Championship and Big 12 challenge in 2016 rests on the health of Mayfield.\u00a0 Make no mistake about that Sooner Nation.<\/h5>\n

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Feature Photo:\u00a0Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield is helped back to the bench after being shaken up on a play late in the fourth quarter during Thursday’s Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Fla. Clemson won, 37-17. (Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman)<\/p>\n

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Oklahoma Sooner quarterback Baker Mayfield suffered concussions in two\u00a0of his final three games last season.\u00a0…<\/p>\n

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