Oklahoma Football | 2017 Football Awards and Honors By: Ryan Lewis Posted on: December 13, 2017

Image via SoonerSports.com

The Sooners have had quite the season. Mere months removed from a Hall of Fame football coach retiring, Bob Stoops’ successor Lincoln Riley has led OU to a College Football Playoff berth. Along the way, a whole host of players have been unbelievable. Many of them have been honored for their achievements recently.

The Big 12 released their player awards and conference team two weeks ago. Orlando Brown won Offensive Lineman of the year (for the second straight year), Kenneth Murray won Co-Defensive Freshman of the Year, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo won Co-Defensive Player of the Year, and Baker Mayfield won Offensive Player of the year (his second time). Several Sooners were also honored on the conference team.

Last week, Mark Andrews took home the Mackey Award, given annually to the nation’s top tight end. It was the first time a Sooner had won the award. 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. Below is a comparison of the past 15 Mackey Award Winners, plus one for good luck.

Mark Andrews has been nothing short of stellar this year.

Thursday of last week, the annual College Football Awards show took place in Atlanta. Connor McGinnis was a winner that evening. He took home the Mortell HOTY Trophy, given to the nation’s top field goal holder.

McGinnis wasn’t the only Sooner honored that evening. Baker Mayfield had quite the night; 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 last 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.

Mayfield wasn’t done there, either. This past Saturday, he won the most prestigious honor in college football: the Heisman Trophy.

Mayfield is the 6th Sooner to win the Heisman, following the footsteps of Billy Vessels, Steve Owens, Billy Sims, Jason White, and Sam Bradford.

Not only did Mayfield win the Trophy, but he did so in one of the most lopsided votes ever. He had 732 first place votes, fifth most all time. Baker also received 86% of the total possible points, third highest all time.

Throughout the past week, many media outlets have been releasing their All-American lists as well. While there are many excellent websites and papers that release such lists, the NCAA recognizes five of them for a specific honor. The AP All-Americans, Sporting News All-Americans, Walter Camp All-Americans, FWAA All-Americans, and AFCA All-Americans are the lists used to determine Consensus and Unanimous All-Americans. A player is considered a Consensus All-American if he is first team on three of the lists, while a Unanimous All-American must be first team on all five. (If you’re unanimous, you’re consensus too).

Wednesday, Baker Mayfield, Mark Andrews, and Orlando Brown were confirmed as Unanimous All-Americans, after the last of the five lists was released. Obo was recognized on every single one of these teams, but was not first team on enough of them to land Consensus honors. This marks the first time since 2003 that the Sooners have had more than two players honored as either unanimous or consensus All-Americans.

Oklahoma is 5th all-time in Consensus All-Americans. Additionally, having 3 players be Unanimous All-Americans this season moved OU into first all time with 35 (just ahead of Notre Dame). Having so many honored this year is a tremendous statement.

A list of Oklahoma awards and honors is below. There are many great media outlets that release All-American lists, but not all of them are listed.