Sooners Awards – Cleaning Up By: Ryan Lewis Posted on: December 8, 2017

Image via SoonerSports.com

It was a big Thursday for the Sooners. The annual College Football Awards Show took place in Atlanta, and OU was well represented.

Earlier in the week, Mark Andrews was the first player to receive the Mackey Award, given annually to the nation’s top tight end, in program history. He was honored for that award last night. Andrews is first in the country for tight ends in receiving yards and receiving yards per game, second in yards per catch and touchdowns, and third in receptions. The Mackey Award winner has been a dynamic threat for the Sooners all year. Perhaps the most impressive part of his game doesn’t even show on the stat book: despite being the biggest receiving target on the field, he finds himself wide open with remarkably high frequency.

Below is a comparison of Mark Andrews with the last 15 years of Mackey Award Winners. And yes, there is one tight end listed who did not win the award. I’ll let you spot him.

Tops in a category are highlighted

Those are some incredibly impressive numbers from Andrews, especially since he’s not done with the season. While there is no chance of him ending this season at the top of that list in receptions, he will almost certainly finish first in yards and yards per catch.

Connor McGinnis was a winner as well. He took home the Mortell HOTY Trophy, given to the nation’s top field goal holder.

Baker Mayfield had a huge Thursday. He took home the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Player of the Year, and the Davey O’Brien Award, along with being announced as the AP Player of the Year earlier in the day.

The finalists for the AP Player of the Year included Stanford RB Bryce Love and Louisville QB Lamar Jackson. Out of the 56 AP voters, 51 of the them voted Mayfield as first. Mayfield finished with 157 points, Love with 83, and Jackson with 39. The three are also the finalists for the Heisman Trophy. In the AP Player of the Year’s 20 year history, the winner has gone on to win the Heisman in all but 6 seasons. Previous Sooners to win the Award are Josh Heupel (2000), Jason White (2003), and Sam Bradford (2008), with Heupel being the only one of the three to not also win the Heisman Trophy.

Love and Mayfield, along with Penn State RB Saquon Barkley, were finalists for the Maxwell Award. The Award has been given annually since 1937. Mayfield is one of three OU players to win the award, joining Tommy McDonald (1956) and Jason White (2004).

Mayfield is the fifth OU player to receive the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, given annually to the nation’s top player since 1967. Previous Sooner winners are Jerry Tubbs (1956), Steve Owens (1969), Billy Sims (1978), and Josh Heupel (2000).

Yet another award Mayfield took home Thursday was the Davey O’Brien Award, given to the nation’s top quarterback since 1981. Before that, it was given to the top player in the Southwest. Previous Sooner winners are Billy Sims (1978), Jason White (2003 and 2004), and Sam Bradford (2008). White is one of only four players to ever win the award twice.

The next individual honor Mayfield is up for is the Heisman Trophy, which will be announced Saturday evening.

Another honor announced Thursday was the Walter Camp All-American Team. Mark Andrews, Orlando Brown, Obgonnia Okoronkwo, and Mayfield were all on the first team.

The NCAA recognizes five major All-American lists above others: AP All-Americans, Sporting News All-Americans, FWAA All-Americans, AFCA All-Americans, and Walter Camp All-Americans. These five are the lists used to determine consensus and unanimous All-Americans. For a player to be a consensus All-American, he must appear on at least half (in this case three) of the five lists, while a unanimous All-American must appear on all five.

The University of Oklahoma has a prestigious record with All-Americans. OU ranks fifth all time in consensus All-Americans with 77. Most recently, Dede Westbrook was a unanimous All-American last year. All four of the Sooners on the Walter Camp team stand an excellent chance of being consensus All-Americans, and potentially unanimous All-Americans.