"I thought I was your f**king starting QB" - Baker Mayfield reveals frustrations with Kliff Kingsbury on Texas Tech benching before Oklahoma transfer

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield has opened up about his frustration with former Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury and his departure from the program. During Wednesday's episode of Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce's “New Heights” podcast, Mayfield revisited his time at the program.

“We were playing Kansas," Mayfield said when asked about the situation surrounding his transfer from Texas Tech in 2013. "I sprained my MCL. Minor sprain, though. I was going to be back in three weeks. And one of them was a bye week. So, I was like, 'OK, I’m going to miss two games, come back, get my job back.' And when I came back, they had other plans.”

According to Mayfield, David Webb had already been given his starting role by the time he returned. However, the Red Raiders' winning streak didn't last much longer, and the team went four or five games without a win, Mayfield continued.

He added:

"And I was like, at that point I went in and talked to Kliff, and I was like, 'Hey, like I don’t know what’s going on. Regardless, do you think there’s a plan to have me on scholarship next offseason or like, in the spring?' He’s like, 'No, we don’t have one then ...' I was like, 'What? I thought I was your f*cking starting quarterback. You don’t have a scholarship.'”

Mayfield went on to have one of the most iconic college careers of the 2010s at Oklahoma, playing three years as a starter.

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Baker Mayfield’s story from walk-on quarterback to first overall draft pick

Baker Mayfield received multiple scholarship offers coming out of high school, including those from Washington State, Florida Atlantic, New Mexico and Rice. However, he decided to enroll at a Division I FBS school, citing his dad as an inspiration. He said:

“I easily could’ve gone to a place like Florida Atlantic, but my dad pushed me to realize that my dream was to play somewhere big.”

After transferring from Texas Tech, he had to sit out a season at Oklahoma before starting for the Sooners for three seasons. The highlight of his college football career was winning the Heisman Trophy in 2017.

In three seasons as a starter, Baker Mayfield led the Sooners to a 38-8 record, throwing for 12,292 yards and 119 touchdowns. He was picked first overall in the 2018 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns.