“Amazing, Passionate, Star in the making” – Thomas McNerney, Thinks Baker is Christ reborn

“Arrogant, Immature, Disrespectful” – Daniel Lehman, Salty Ohio State fan

When you think of Baker Mayfield, which set of words best fits your description? There’s no way to avoid discussing it, Mayfield is not the perfect person. Whether it be his pre-season public intoxication arrest, his flag-planting on the Ohio State logo earlier this season after the Sooners big 31-16 win, or his most recent sideline antics against Kansas a few weeks ago. He has shown multiple times that he has definitely not matured completely.

In his defense, Mayfield’s on the field actions can be excused as crimes of passion. The Ohio State win came after the Buckeyes thrashed Oklahoma 45-24 the previous year.  The Kansas captains refused to shake his hand before kickoff along with other cheap shots throughout the game. He has also apologized for all of the listed incidents, and showed that he recognized his mistakes with a pacifistic approach to Oklahoma’s chippy game with West Virginia this past weekend. Of course, not everyone sees these as legitimate excuses for a player trying to have a season where his “performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity” in order to win the Heisman.

But all on-field or off-field shenanigans aside, whether you love him or hate him, there is no way in this world that you can deny that Baker Mayfield can flat out play. He currently leads the nation’s top offense, throwing for an average of 377.8 yards per game to go along with their 45.3 average points per matchup. Mayfield has thrown for 4097 yards and 37 touchdowns with only 5 interceptions this season. By comparison, Johnny Manziel, who many people compare to Mayfield, threw only 26 touchdowns with 9 interceptions in 2012 when he won the Heisman.  These numbers back up No. 3 Oklahoma’s impressive season, as the Sooners are bound for the College Football Playoff barring a loss to TCU in the Big 12 Championship game.

When you look at the facts, there is no way that Mayfield shouldn’t be this year’s Heisman Trophy Winner. He’s finished as a finalist for the past two years, meaning that the third time’s a charm for being crowned the best player in the country. Even if he doesn’t win the award because of his issues, Mayfield should be one of the most exciting rookies in the NFL next season.