If you've heard of Baker Mayfield, you likely know his story by now.
Twice a walk-on, once denied a scholarship (per his account), Mayfield's story is of overcoming the odds. His first college coach wasn't convinced he was the guy for his program, despite a 5-0 start as a walk-on freshman, and he had to compete to earn his job back before his team's bowl game. Not long after, he transferred, sitting out a year to again walk-on, win the Heisman Trophy and go No. 1 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.
The aforementioned coach is Kliff Kingsbury, who was once the head of Texas Tech (Mayfield's first school) and is now the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, Mayfield's Week 15 opponent.
One might think that would lead to some animosity and a chilly greeting before or after the game, with swarms of cameras surrounding the two. Wrong. Sorry, drama fiends, that won't be happening in Glendale this weekend.
"We've talked since, played against him a few times since and it's exactly that," Mayfield said of Kingsbury. "We're in a good place, obviously he's trying to beat me this week, I'm trying to beat him, and on top of that, (former Oklahoma teammate and current Cardinals QB) Kyler (Murray) being involved, it makes a fun one for us."
Kingsbury's decision to make Mayfield earn his job a second time coming off an injury in his first season rubbed the quarterback the wrong way and expedited his exit, which Mayfield also said years ago was related to the football department telling him he wouldn't be offered a scholarship, despite his performance.
"I would have liked to have that gone differently, handled that differently, but you live and you learn," Kingsbury said Wednesday.
Mayfield left, but had three chances to earn revenge over Kingsbury, which he did each time, even going as far as wearing a Mayfield-themed Texas Tech T-shirt that read "TRAITOR" into their meeting in Norman, Oklahoma, in 2017.
Ultimately, Mayfield got the last laugh with his wins over Kingsbury. But now the coach is in charge of his dear friend, Murray, which helped the two mend fences.
We'll see who comes out on top of their latest meeting Sunday.
