Bragging rights will be on the line when Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray meet

Bob McManaman | The Republic | azcentral.com

One of them talks a mile a minute and is prone to say whatever is on his mind, even if it ticks off the wrong people. The other doesn’t say much at all, seems to prefer keeping to himself, and tends to stay clear from commenting on or doing anything remotely controversial.

They might be an extrovert and an introvert, but Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray have an awful lot in common.

They grew up just a couple hundred miles away from each other in Texas.

They were both star quarterbacks in high school and winners of state championships.

Murray never lost a game. Mayfield only lost twice.

They both started their college careers at Texas universities and found themselves having to transfer elsewhere to get more playing time.

As fate would have it, their circumstances brought them to the University of Oklahoma, where they were united for the 2017 season.

Mayfield led the Sooners to a 12-2 record that year, a victory in the Big 12 Championship and an appearance in the College Football Playoff.

He also won the Heisman Trophy.

A year later, Murray took over as Oklahoma’s starting quarterback. He also led the Sooners to a 12-2 record, a Big 12 championship and an appearance in the CFP.

Like Mayfield, he also won the Heisman.

They both became the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft and Sunday, a day after the newest Heisman Trophy winner is announced, Mayfield and the Browns will meet Murray and the Cardinals when the teams collide at State Farm Stadium in Arizona’s final home game of the season.

“They’ll be fired up for this one, yeah, there’s no doubt,” said Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury, who recruited Mayfield to Texas Tech and tried long and hard to convince Murray to go there as well. “They’ll both be ready to rock.”

The Pro Football Writers of America named Mayfield the NFL’s Rooke of the Year last season as he led the Browns to a 7-8-1 finish a year after they went 0-16. Murray remains in the conversation for Rookie of the Year this season, even though the Cardinals have struggled at 3-9-1.

They may have their own way as to how they go about things, but the similarities are almost endless.

“Yeah, they’re very competitive, obviously, so it starts there,” Kingsbury said. “They’ve both been winners, have been winners their entire life, and they hate to lose at anything. Kyler’s more of an introvert than Baker, but both are effective leaders in their own right.”

Mayfield has said and done things on the field that have provoked criticisms while Murray has rarely made a peep about anything. Yet both are in control of rebuilding franchises and figure to be cornerstones of the future for years to come. That won’t change regardless of how much they squawk or how little they chatter.

“I think everybody finds motivation within themselves and I think you have to be yourself to what you are at the core,” Browns coach Freddie Kitchens said during a conference call Wednesday with Arizona reporters. “Be yourself and understand who you are first and foremost and then get everybody on board.”

Mayfield, 24, is unabashed and unapologetic when it comes to leading the Browns, who have won four out of their last five games to improve to 6-7. Though Mayfield has said some things Kitchens probably hasn’t liked, the coach isn’t afraid to let Mayfield be Mayfield.

“Well, Baker has an innate ability to bring people with him,” Kitchens said. “He does a good job of getting people on board and pulling in the same direction and I think that’s what you want in your quarterback.”

Murray does it a little bit differently, preferring to keep things calm and leading by example.

“I would never do some of the stuff he’s done,” Murray said Wednesday, laughing. “But no, that’s my boy. He knows that. I just let him do his thing and you just laugh at him. … Everybody has their own way of doing things. He was a great teammate, a great leader. Everybody round the building felt that. When it was my opportunity, you know, I lead how I lead and he leads how he leads.”

Considering he and the Cardinals are in the middle of a six-game losing streak and Murray is about to face his former predecessor at Oklahoma, it’s worth wondering if Kingsbury will try to rein in his rookie quarterback from trying to do too much on Sunday.

That’s been a noticeable flaw in Murray’s game lately, after all.

“Like I’ve said before, I feel like he’s been pressing a little bit, trying to win games with every throw at times,” Kingsbury said. “He understands, ‘Hey, play within the system.’ I don’t think that’s added this week. I just think that’s kind of where we needed to be headed anyways — do your job and execute at a high level and let’s get back in a rhythm.”

Murray agrees completely and notes that’s probably why he’s had more turnovers than usual. The plan on Sunday, he said, will be to not try to do too much and simply let the game come to him and then he’ll do his thing.

He admits, however, that there will be some bragging rights on the line when he meets Mayfield on Sunday.

“I haven’t seen him for a while,” Murray said. “It’s going to be kind of special just to be on the same field. To play against him is obviously special.

MURRAY AND MAYFIELD COMPARISONS

A statistical look at how Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield did during their final season at Oklahoma.

STAT | MURRAY | MAYFIELD

Games | 14 | 14

Record | 12-2 | 12-2

Pass attempts | 377 | 404

Completions | 260 | 285

Passing yards | 4,361 | 4,627

TD passes | 42 | 43

Passer rating | 199.2 | 198.9

Rush attempts | 140 | 97

Rush yards | 1,001 | 311

Rush TDs | 12 | 5

Total rush/pass yards| 5,362 | 4,938

Totals rush/pass TDs | 54 | 48

Have an opinion on the Arizona Cardinals? Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic.com and follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac. Listen to him live on Fox Sports 910-AM every Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 on Calling All Sports with Roc and Manuch and every Wednesday night from 7-9 on The Freaks with Kenny and Crash.

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