NEW ORLEANS, La. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and Oklahoma Sooners alum Baker Mayfield said Sunday that he was glad he could occupy the attention of Texas Longhorns players and fans despite having not played in a game against them since 2017.
Texas linebackers Anthony Hill Jr. and Barryn Sorrell planted a Longhorns flag on his No. 6 college jersey at midfield after defeating the Sooners 34-3 in the annual Red River Rivalry game Saturday. Hill also posed for a photo in the locker room with Mayfield's jersey, which had a large hole slashed through the middle. He posted the photo on X with the caption: "Texas fears nobody."
Texas fears nobody pic.twitter.com/52g4gqyBel
— Anthony Hill Jr (@thegoatanthony1) October 12, 2024
When asked about the incident, Mayfield, who threw for four touchdowns and 325 yards in a 51-27 victory over the New Orleans Saints, said: "[I'm] just a kid from Austin, Texas that went to Oklahoma, won his last two Red River games and being rent free in their heads for almost a decade."
It's unclear why the players chose Mayfield's jersey.
It's possible that the Longhorns players actually were channeling Mayfield -- he ran across Ohio Stadium in Columbus with the Sooners flag, planting it midfield right on the "O" following a win over Ohio State in 2017. But there was no jersey involved.
Mayfield's disdain for the Longhorns is well-documented.
He told reporters in 2018: "You come to Oklahoma to beat Texas. I was born and raised in Austin. They didn't recruit me. I grew up 15 miles from their campus. I can't stand them, in anything they do. I don't care. [I] talk to the NFL guys -- they say I have to calm it down a little bit. But when it comes to Texas, absolutely not. I can't stand them."
In 2016, Mayfield helped the Sooners defeat the Longhorns 45-40, donning a gold cowboy hat -- awarded to the winner of the annual game -- and running around the field with the OU flag after throwing three touchdowns in that game
"It's special to me. Very special," Mayfield said after that win. "I've been waiting a long time to actually come away with a win against these guys."
He then defeated the Longhorns 29-24 in 2017 with a 59-yard go-ahead touchdown to now-Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews in the fourth quarter, capping off a two-touchdown performance after the Sooners blew a 20-point lead.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.