BEREA, Ohio -- From leading Oklahoma to an appearance in the College Football Playoff on the way to a Heisman Trophy win and becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield has had a whirlwind year.
But despite the hectic schedule, Mayfield made the time to propose to his girlfriend, Emily Wilkinson, during his brief break between the end Organized Team Activities in mid-June and the start of training camp, which got underway in Berea last week.
“It just felt right,” Mayfield said.
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Before dropping to a knee and “popping the question” in California, Mayfield made sure everyone important to the couple were present to celebrate the engagement.
“I had both my family and her family there, made sure that everybody who is important in both of our lives, I tried to get all of those people there, and it was special,” Mayfield said.
The 6-foot-1, 215-pound Mayfield put together a Heisman Trophy-winning campaign in 2017 where he completed 285 of his 404 throws (70.5 percent) for 4,627 yards and 43 touchdowns against just six interceptions to cap off a four-year career that started at Texas Tech University.
During his three years at Oklahoma and one season with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Mayfield completed 1,026 of his 1,497 attempts (68.5 percent) for 14,607 yards and 131 touchdowns against only 30 interceptions.
But accomplishing that while facing the threat of being the target of every defender’s pursuits was not nearly as intimidating as asking for Wilkinson’s hand in marriage.
While Mayfield laughed when asked about making the gutsy move to have both families there, to him, the hardest part was flying to Omaha, Nebraska, to ask permission to propose.
“That was a little nerve-wracking,” Mayfield said. “I tell you what, asking permission to marry his daughter, that takes a lot of guts.”
And were there any objections?
“No, thank God,” Mayfield said with a laugh.
What started as a date set up by a mutual friend whom Mayfield met when he first transferred to Oklahoma led to him and Wilkinson overcoming “hard-headed” and “stubborn” ways to share their lives together.
“The personal side of my life, I separate that from football, and that’s how I think it should be done because when you step away from work, you gotta be able to take your mind off of it and she’s been the best thing for me and it felt like the right time,” Mayfield said.
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