Dean Blevins should probably stick with percentages and / or hunting down who stole his Smart Ones.
Last week, Dean brought some good news to Sooner fans when he broke the story that Texas Tech transfer QB Baker Mayfield was granted a third year of eligibility by the NCAA and would be able to play immediately for the Sooners, giving the team a starting caliber QB to backup (and push) the oft-injured and occasionally inconsistent Trevor Knight.
Via News 9:
Baker Mayfield finally caught a break. And so did the Oklahoma Sooners.
The talented Texas Tech transfer won his appeal with the NCAA and has been granted a third year of eligibility. Oklahoma finally got good news after striking out with three other potential difference-makers they'd hoped/expected to play this season (Dorial Green-Beckham, Joe Mixon and Frank Shannon will not play this year for various off-the-field reasons).
There is some conversation about Mayfield redshirting this season and then having three years to play -- presumably leaving him at least one year with Knight having finished his career. But if Mayfield were eligible, it would be hard to fathom Oklahoma not pulling off the redshirt should Knight be unable to play.
Although Mayfield hasn't been taking reps with the ones and twos (he and DGB are tearing it up with the scout team), the Texas native is talented and experienced enough to jettison into the back-up role quickly. This doesn't mean that current back-up Cody Thomas will not have a successful career in Norman. Same with redshirt true freshman Justice Hansen. Both are gifted. But neither is currently what Mayfield is as a proven major conference passer, runner, leader and playmaker.
The NCAA should have given an answer sooner to Mayfield. And the Sooners should have done more to get the transfer rule appeal earlier. Sources confirm the Mayfields were disappointed with the timing of the process.
That's awesome! You can never have too many good quarterbacks on campus. Of course, it would be more awesome if any of it were true:
Via NewsOK.com:
It appears the chances of quarterback Baker Mayfield playing for Oklahoma this season are over.
Mayfield, the walk-on who transferred from Texas Tech in the offseason, has his appeal for eligibility denied by both the NCAA and the Big 12, a source close to the situation said Monday.
Due to Big 12 rules governing transfers within the conference, Mayfield has to not only sit out this year after transferring within the conference but loses a year of eligibility even considering that Mayfield was a walk-on at Tech and is currently a walk-on at Oklahoma.
Oh, so the NewsOK.com report seems to totally contradict the breaking news that Dean Blevins reported a week earlier on News 9. I wonder who's right and who's wrong?
Via Blatant Homerism:
A report yesterday from paragon of unreliability Dean Blevins, sportscaster with Oklahoma City's CBS affiliate, had Texas Tech transfer Baker Mayfield gaining immediate eligibility from the NCAA to play for Oklahoma this season.
Chip Brown, another reporter of renowned semi-accuracy, later weighed in with a report that Blevins had botched the scoop. According to Brown, who writes for HornsDigest.com, the NCAA hadn't approved Mayfield's request for immediate eligibility to play this year. Instead, Brown reported that the NCAA would allow OU to put Mayfield on scholarship retroactive to the beginning of this season.
ESPN.com Big 12 blogger Jake Trotter also disputed Blevins' report.
Oh, so Dean Blevins got something wrong and "botched the scoop." Whatever. Tell that to Florida head football coach Bob Stoops.
Actually, I don't have a problem with Dean Blevins screwing something up. This is Dean Blevins. We're used to it. Part of the fun of listening to him is guessing which of his reports are true and which are totally fabricated. Plus, there's always the chance he can urinate live on the air.
What irritates me is that Dean doesn't fess up to being wrong. Trust me, there's nothing more fun than writing a retraction. Of course, Dean probably thinks a retraction is that sex toy that Rosser showed him the last time they recorded an Interurban commercial, so maybe it's better that he doesn't retract.
