OU's Baker Mayfield Granted Extra Year of Eligibility

Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield has been granted an extra year of eligibility, the Big 12 announced at their annual meetings press conference on Thursday.   The news comes after a 7-3 vote among the conferences faculty athletic representatives to change the walk-on policy.  

After originally failing to pass a rule change that would have reduced the penalty for in-conference walk-on transfers on Wednesday, the Big 12 was able to set things straight just one day later.

So instead of a walk-on losing a year of eligibility if they were to transfer within the conference, the player can now transfer to a school within the Big 12 without penalty if they were never given a written scholarship offer.

Mayfield was never given a written scholarship offer from Texas Tech after he walked on as a true freshman, therefore he regains the year of eligibility he thought he’d lost when he transferred to OU.

This is huge news for Sooner fans, seeing Mayfield will likely be wearing an OU jersey for the next two seasons after making a name for himself in his first year as a starter. Mayfield threw for 3,700 yards and 36 touchdowns last year while leading OU to the College Football Playoff.  

Here's what OU head coach Bob Stoops had to say about the ruling via Twitter: