CALL HIM MR. CLUTCH
11/2/2022 3:56:00 PM | Football
John Mayers is Baylor’s all-time leader in career field goal percentage
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Going back to the 2018 Texas Bowl, when he was pressed into duty as a true freshman and hit three extra points in his first collegiate action, John Mayers has been arguably the best clutch kicker in Baylor football history.
In 2019, he made no less than four game-deciding kicks, including a career-long 51-yarder with 36 seconds left in regulation in the Bears' 29-23 triple-overtime win at TCU.
"I'd certainly rather it be on me than the other team's kicker," said Mayers, who also hit game-winners against Iowa State, Texas Tech and West Virginia, "because I feel more confident in me making it than having to rely on their kicker missing it, to win or lose the game. . . . When it's on the line, you just have to focus on your technique and your craft and just do your job and help your team win when it matters the most."
Going into the 2021 season, Mayers was the school's all-time leader in career field goal percentage at 76.5%, connecting on 26-of-34. But lost his job to true freshman Isaiah Hankins in fall camp and didn't kick once in Baylor's record-setting 12-2 season.
"At first, it was anger, frustration, all that," said Mayers, a fifth-year senior from Flower Mound, Texas. "I wanted to be like, 'I'm a two-year starter, that should be me out there. Why are you switching?' But then, as two or three weeks go by and I looked back on it, I realized I should have done better. I didn't really show the coaches that I earned the job, because my fall camp performance wasn't good enough to be a starting Division I, Power 5 kicker."
While Hankins was a perfect 57-of-57 on extra points and 14-of-20 on field goals with a long of 48 last year, Mayers sat out the whole year during a Big 12 championship run and Sugar Bowl win over Ole Miss.
"I feel like I learned last year to really be grateful for any opportunities I got," Mayers said, "Whether that was a few kicks in practice here and there, working with the scout team or whatever it was, just to be grateful. I felt like it was God teaching me patience or gratitude. It was certainly new for me, because I hadn't really experienced that since my true freshman year in 2018. It was kind of a weird flashback to that, but certainly made me more grateful."
In a transfer portal world, it would have been easy for Mayers to pack it in and go somewhere else to finish his playing career, especially with a bachelor's degree already in hand. Instead, he chose to stay, work on a master's degree in sport management and try to win his job back.
"I talked with (head coach Dave Aranda) about it when the decision was made," said Mayers, who remained the No. 2 kicker going into this season. "But, Baylor's just home to me. My dad is a graduate, my grandpa's a graduate, my uncle. This just felt like home, starting up in recruiting and all the way till now. And probably always will be. So, I really didn't want to leave.
"I feel like with the transfer portal now, if one thing goes wrong, people jump just like that. . . . You look at guys like Jalen Pitre, who could have left, but stayed and had a great senior year. I don't know if it's just how the world works, but I feel like people who stay and grind, work hard and fight for their jobs, they get rewarded in the end. And that's what I wanted to do."
Not only did he miss the first two games of the season, Mayers didn't even make the trip for the BYU game on Sept. 10 in Provo, Utah. But since winning the job back, he is 5-of-5 on field goals, including a season-long 48-yarder for the first points in last week's 45-17 win at Texas Tech. The only two extra points he's missed in his career (108-of-110) were both blocked.
"I'm so happy for John," Aranda said. "Last year, the team had a bunch of success, and I'm sure John was frustrated with his particular role. But, he competed for it and competed in such a way that showed class. Just everything you'd expect just knowing John. We have a couple more games that I'm sure are going to be tight, and we're going to be in situations where we've got to rely on John. And we all do."
Further entrenched as the school record-holder in career field goal percentage (.795, 31-of-39), Mayers is also sixth in field goals made (31) and points by a kicker (201) and fifth in PAT kicks made (108).
In the offseason, he worked on "getting the ball up quickly" and his overall strength in the weight room with Vic Viloria. His kicking coach in Dallas is former NFL kicker Scott Blanton, who also tutored Baylor kickers Chris Callahan and Connor Martin and reigning Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week Michael Turk from Oklahoma.
"It's good when you can roll someone out that you fully know has done everything they possibly can to successfully do their job," Aranda said. "Whether or not it goes in, we don't really control that, but you trust that this dude has done everything he can. And John is one of those guys."
Planning to move back to Dallas after he finishes his master's degree, Mayers would like to "go into either corporate business or do something on the administrative side" with one of the professional teams in Dallas – the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks or Dallas Stars.
"I've always wanted to be a team player and contribute," Mayers said. "And I feel like I have ever since 2019 when I started playing. I'm just glad to be contributing and helping this team win."
The Bears (5-3, 3-2) face Oklahoma (5-3, 2-3) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., in a game that will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Courtney Lyle, Ryan Leaf and Tori Petry calling the action.
Paying homage to a classic Bryce Petty interview from 2014, when Mayers was asked about getting his job back, he said, "Just ready for OU."
Baylor Bear Insider
Going back to the 2018 Texas Bowl, when he was pressed into duty as a true freshman and hit three extra points in his first collegiate action, John Mayers has been arguably the best clutch kicker in Baylor football history.
In 2019, he made no less than four game-deciding kicks, including a career-long 51-yarder with 36 seconds left in regulation in the Bears' 29-23 triple-overtime win at TCU.
"I'd certainly rather it be on me than the other team's kicker," said Mayers, who also hit game-winners against Iowa State, Texas Tech and West Virginia, "because I feel more confident in me making it than having to rely on their kicker missing it, to win or lose the game. . . . When it's on the line, you just have to focus on your technique and your craft and just do your job and help your team win when it matters the most."
Going into the 2021 season, Mayers was the school's all-time leader in career field goal percentage at 76.5%, connecting on 26-of-34. But lost his job to true freshman Isaiah Hankins in fall camp and didn't kick once in Baylor's record-setting 12-2 season.
"At first, it was anger, frustration, all that," said Mayers, a fifth-year senior from Flower Mound, Texas. "I wanted to be like, 'I'm a two-year starter, that should be me out there. Why are you switching?' But then, as two or three weeks go by and I looked back on it, I realized I should have done better. I didn't really show the coaches that I earned the job, because my fall camp performance wasn't good enough to be a starting Division I, Power 5 kicker."
While Hankins was a perfect 57-of-57 on extra points and 14-of-20 on field goals with a long of 48 last year, Mayers sat out the whole year during a Big 12 championship run and Sugar Bowl win over Ole Miss.
"I feel like I learned last year to really be grateful for any opportunities I got," Mayers said, "Whether that was a few kicks in practice here and there, working with the scout team or whatever it was, just to be grateful. I felt like it was God teaching me patience or gratitude. It was certainly new for me, because I hadn't really experienced that since my true freshman year in 2018. It was kind of a weird flashback to that, but certainly made me more grateful."
In a transfer portal world, it would have been easy for Mayers to pack it in and go somewhere else to finish his playing career, especially with a bachelor's degree already in hand. Instead, he chose to stay, work on a master's degree in sport management and try to win his job back.
"I talked with (head coach Dave Aranda) about it when the decision was made," said Mayers, who remained the No. 2 kicker going into this season. "But, Baylor's just home to me. My dad is a graduate, my grandpa's a graduate, my uncle. This just felt like home, starting up in recruiting and all the way till now. And probably always will be. So, I really didn't want to leave.
"I feel like with the transfer portal now, if one thing goes wrong, people jump just like that. . . . You look at guys like Jalen Pitre, who could have left, but stayed and had a great senior year. I don't know if it's just how the world works, but I feel like people who stay and grind, work hard and fight for their jobs, they get rewarded in the end. And that's what I wanted to do."
Not only did he miss the first two games of the season, Mayers didn't even make the trip for the BYU game on Sept. 10 in Provo, Utah. But since winning the job back, he is 5-of-5 on field goals, including a season-long 48-yarder for the first points in last week's 45-17 win at Texas Tech. The only two extra points he's missed in his career (108-of-110) were both blocked.
"I'm so happy for John," Aranda said. "Last year, the team had a bunch of success, and I'm sure John was frustrated with his particular role. But, he competed for it and competed in such a way that showed class. Just everything you'd expect just knowing John. We have a couple more games that I'm sure are going to be tight, and we're going to be in situations where we've got to rely on John. And we all do."
Further entrenched as the school record-holder in career field goal percentage (.795, 31-of-39), Mayers is also sixth in field goals made (31) and points by a kicker (201) and fifth in PAT kicks made (108).
In the offseason, he worked on "getting the ball up quickly" and his overall strength in the weight room with Vic Viloria. His kicking coach in Dallas is former NFL kicker Scott Blanton, who also tutored Baylor kickers Chris Callahan and Connor Martin and reigning Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week Michael Turk from Oklahoma.
"It's good when you can roll someone out that you fully know has done everything they possibly can to successfully do their job," Aranda said. "Whether or not it goes in, we don't really control that, but you trust that this dude has done everything he can. And John is one of those guys."
Planning to move back to Dallas after he finishes his master's degree, Mayers would like to "go into either corporate business or do something on the administrative side" with one of the professional teams in Dallas – the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks or Dallas Stars.
"I've always wanted to be a team player and contribute," Mayers said. "And I feel like I have ever since 2019 when I started playing. I'm just glad to be contributing and helping this team win."
The Bears (5-3, 3-2) face Oklahoma (5-3, 2-3) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., in a game that will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Courtney Lyle, Ryan Leaf and Tori Petry calling the action.
Paying homage to a classic Bryce Petty interview from 2014, when Mayers was asked about getting his job back, he said, "Just ready for OU."
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