Heupel Named AP College Player-of-the-Year

Dec. 7, 2000

By RICHARD ROSENBLATT
AP Football Writer

NEW YORK (AP) - Josh Heupel's remarkable two-year stay at Oklahoma is nearly over. All he needs is one more win - over Florida State in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3 - to make it all worthwhile.

"We've had a great year so far, but we have one game remaining," Heupel said. "Winning a national championship would be the perfect ending to a journey that no one even thought we'd be taking."

Because of Heupel's ability to produce the big play whenever it was needed, the top-ranked Sooners (12-0) swept through the season undefeated and will play for their first national title since 1985.

"There comes a time in each game when the quarterback usually has to make a play to put your team in position to win," said Chuck Long, Oklahoma's quarterbacks coach. "Josh Heupel did that."

On Thursday, Heupel won the Associated Press' College Player of the Year award in balloting by AP member newspapers, TV and radio stations.

The left-hander from Aberdeen, S.D., completed 280 of 433 passes for 3,392 yards and 20 touchdowns, and ran for six scores. In the Sooners' 27-24 win over Kansas State in the Big 12 title game last Saturday, he overcame a season-high three interceptions with two scoring passes and a TD run.

Heupel, who spent a season at Snow Junior College in Utah before arriving at OU in 1999, received 30 of the 82 votes in the AP balloting. Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke was second with 17 votes, and TCU running back LaDainian Tomlinson was third with 9. Purdue quarterback Drew Brees was fourth with 8 votes, Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick was fifth with 5.

"I've always thought that honors like this are a reflection of the team," Heupel said. "I may be getting this honor, but without my teammates it wouldn't be possible."

Heupel has also won player of the year awards from the Walter Camp Foundation and The Sporting News, and, along with Weinke, appears to be the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night.

Whether it was his pinpoint passing against Texas, Kansas State and Nebraska, or crucial third-down dashes in a comeback win at Texas A&M, Heupel made plays when it counted most.

Oklahoma averaged 44 points in its first four wins against Texas-El Paso, Arkansas State, Rice and Kansas, but then came No. 11 Texas, followed by No. 2 Kansas State and No. 1 Nebraska. No problem. In those three games, Heupel was Heisman-like, completing 66 of 108 passes for 949 yards, four TDs and just one interception. The Sooners beat the Longhorns 63-14, the Wildcats 41-31 and the Cornhuskers 31-14 - and worked their way up from No. 19 in the AP preseason poll to No. 1.

The going got tough against Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, but Heupel, despite an ailing throwing arm, still came through.

He rallied the Sooners from a 24-10 deficit against the Aggies for a 35-31 win in a game played before the largest crowd to watch a game in the state of Texas (87,188). Long remembers two key plays by Heupel - both on third down and both on a drive that pulled the Sooners to 31-28.

"He led us on a 60- or 70-yard drive that put us closer," Long said. "Both times it was third-and-8, and both times he ran for first downs. We scored. He hit on the 2-point conversion play, and on the next series we return an interception for a TD and win the game."

Heupel's Oklahoma adventure has been a joyride from the start. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound son of a football coach started out at Weber State, where he was redshirted in 1996 and played just four games in '97. He enrolled at Snow JC and threw for 2,308 yards and 28 TDs at Snow JC.

When Bob Stoops was hired at Oklahoma for the '99 season, he persuaded Heupel to bring his passing talents to Norman. Heupel threw for 3,400 yards and 30 TDs in a 7-5 season, and this year he's got the Sooners' on the verge of a national title.

"His play through the entire year and his winning speak volumes, and that's what people have recognized," Stoops said. "They see what he's done. He's brought a team that was ranked 20th in the country to No. 1 in the nation the last six weeks, and he's the main reason."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Heupel Named AP College Player-of-the-Year

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