Why did Baker Mayfield leave Texas Tech? Tampa Bay QB's collegiate career explored

Baker Mayfield had quite an interesting college football career. He left college football on a high, winning the Heisman Trophy and getting picked as the first overall draft in the 2018 NFL draft. But his entry into college football wasn't as inspiring.

Mayfield was a three-star recruit out of high school. He was heavily recruited, but not by the schools he preferred. Having dreamt of playing in a a Power 5 school all his life, he only got scholarship offers from non-Power 5 schools. He got offers from Florida Atlantic, Sam Houston State, Netflix Mexico North Texas and so on.

However, he got preferred walk-on offers from Big 12 schools, Baylor and Texas Tech. Choosing to follow his dream of playing in the Power 5, Mayfield enrolled at Texas Tech. Mayfield started his true freshman season as a backup quarterback but soon became the starting quarterback after Michael Brewer got injured.

Despite having an amazing and record-breaking freshman season, Mayfield transferred from Texas Tech after just one season in a most dramatic fashion. We revisit his controversial exit from Texas Tech below.

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Why did Baker Mayfield leave Texas Tech?

Baker Mayfield left Texas Tech over a miscommunication. Mayfield arrived at Lubbock as a preferred walk-on. But he soon showed what he was capable of. He started in seven games for the Red Raiders and compiled 2,315 passing yards for 12 touchdowns.

According to a claim made by Mayfield, he was under the impression that he deserved a scholarship offer after his incredible first season. However, an offer never came and Mayfield transferred to Oklahoma, where he competed for the rest of his college career.

Former Texas Tech Red Raiders football head coach, Kliff Kingsbury, denied this claim by Mayfield. He said Mayfield had known about the scholarship offer earlier than he claimed. Nevertheless, Mayfield completed his switch to Oklahoma despite efforts by Kingsbury and Texas Tech to block the move.

Consequently, Baker Mayfield was made to sit out his sophomore year and lost a year of eligibility. However, he appealed based on his status as a walk-on player.

He was granted back his year of eligibility and remained at Oklahoma until 2017. In his senior season at Oklahoma, he won the Heisman Trophy, Manning Award, Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, Davey O'Brien Award, and Chic Harley Award.

Mayfield was selected in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns as the first overall pick. He went ahead to have a successful rookie season in the NFL.