Baker Mayfield could learn how to be a man from Davis Webb

When life does not turn out as one expects, the way a person responds reveals his true character. The manner in which Davis Webb handled his relegation to the backup quarterback position in 2015 shows that his character is far stranger than that of the quarterback that left Texas Tech because he lost his starting job to Webb in 2013, Baker Mayfield.

In the 15 practices leading up to the 2013 Holiday Bowl, Kliff Kingsbury staged a three-way quarterback competition between Webb, Mayfield and sophomore Michael Brewer. As we know, Webb won the job and both Brewer and Mayfield left the program.

No one faults Brewer for leaving because he had only two years of eligibility left and it would have been too much to expect him to sit behind two freshmen for the remainder of his collegiate career when there were opportunities elsewhere.

But Mayfield handled the situation like a petulant child, a trait that he continues to exhibit two years later as he takes any opportunity he has to complain about Kingsbury and Texas Tech as he recently did saying that Texas Tech should give him his lost year of eligibility back despite Big 12 rules to the contrary that side with Tech.

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Now, the immature Sooners’ quarterback is taking shots at other schools, specifically TCU and Gary Patterson because he felt slighted when they did not recruit him out of high school. These comments caused TCU head coach Gary Patterson to fire back in an unusually blunt manner for the long-time coach.

"“If Baker Mayfield wants to blame TCU for 128 BCS schools not offering him a scholarship, that’s fine.” Patterson told Bonnie Bernstein of Campus Insiders. “But ask Kliff Kingsbury why he didn’t offer him a scholarship at Texas Tech. Ask about Baker’s dad [James]. He’s an arrogant guy who thinks he knows everything. If people knew the whole story, they might not have a great opinion of Baker or his father.” Link"

Unlike Webb, who gave everything he could to his team as the backup quarterback for an entire season, Mayfield left the program as soon as he found out he was not going to be the starter. He could not even muster the decency to stay on the team for the final game of the season, the Holiday Bowl. In effect, as soon as things didn’t go his way he took his ball and went elsewhere leaving his teammates in his wake.

On the other hand, Webb remained a leader on the team doing what he could to make his team better. Offensive coordinator Eric Morris stated that Webb was always willing to help the young Texas Tech receivers as well as sophomore quarterback Pat Mahomes. Morris even said that Webb earned the nickname “Coach Webb” among his teammates. Link

Conversely, Mayfield virtually snuck out of town like a thief in the night without so much as a word to the Texas Tech fans that had supported him. Furthermore, he blamed his situation on Kliff Kingsbury. By saying that Kingsbury failed to fully communicate with him and insinuating that he was not going to be given a scholarship by the school, Mayfield played the victim. Link

Never once did Mayfield acknowledge that his poor play could have contributed to the loss of the starting spot. In 8 games as a Red Raider, Mayfield threw 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Meanwhile, in 10 games that season, Webb threw 20 touchdown passes and nine interceptions.

Webb had a quarterback rating of 139.1 to Mayfield’s 127.7. So it is clear that Webb played better than Mayfield in 2013 but Mayfield entitled to the starting position despite performing worse than his competitor.

When Webb struggled in 2014 and was outplayed by Pat Mahomes, Webb handled the situation like a man. He accepted the decision of his coaching staff and continued to work as hard as anyone on the team.

Webb’s father never made public complaints about Kingsbury as Mayfield’s father did when he called Kingsbury a scoundrel in the national media. Instead, Webb’s father let his adult son handle his situation on his own teaching him a lesson about how to overcome life’s adversities.

Davis Webb did everything that Texas Tech asked of him. He leaves the program as one of the most respected players in recent program history.

Despite being dealt a difficult blow to his career, Webb kept his head up and his mouth shut. He was the ultimate example of a leader.

It is too bad that Baker Mayfield can’t take lessons on handling disappointment like a grown man from Davis Webb. It would do the childish Oklahoma quarterback some good.

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