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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooners Pace the Field on All-Big 12 Teams
December 09, 2015 | Football
NORMAN — Head coach Bob Stoops, quarterback Baker Mayfield and wide receiver Dede Westbrook each took home individual honors and nine Sooners were named to the All-Big 12 First Team as the Big 12 announced its football awards Wednesday. Selections were made by the league's coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own players.
Stoops was named the Chuck Neinas Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his career, breaking a tie with Kansas State's Bill Snyder for the most in Big 12 history. Now in his 17th season, Stoops led the Sooners to their ninth Big 12 championship this year behind an 11-1 overall record and an 8-1 mark in league play. He has also guided Oklahoma to a berth in the College Football Playoff where the No. 4 Sooners will meet No. 1 Clemson in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Dec. 31 in Miami Gardens, Fla.
A junior, Mayfield was tabbed the Offensive Player of the Year. He joins Sam Bradford (2008), Jason White (2003 and 2004) and Josh Heupel (2000) as the only OU players to win the honor. The recent winner of the Burlsworth Trophy, Mayfield ranks No. 2 nationally in yards per pass attempt (9.6) and pass efficiency rating (178.9), No. 6 in passing TDs (35) and points responsible for per game (21.0) and No. 7 in pass completion percentage (.686).
Westbrook, also a junior, was chosen as the Offensive Newcomer of the Year, becoming the third player in school annals to be recognized for the award. A transfer from Blinn Community College, he joins Adrian Peterson (2004) and Josh Heupel (1999) after catching 42 passes for 674 yards and averaging 56.2 yards per game, good for second on the team in all three categories. Westbrook is tied for third on the team with four touchdown catches, while his 16.0 yards per catch rank second among those on OU's roster with at least 10 receptions.
Oklahoma's nine overall first-team selections were the most of any conference team, as were the five offensive selections and four defensive picks. With another honoree on the second-team offense and five more on second-team defense, OU posted 15 all-conference players overall. Baylor was second with nine overall honorees, followed by TCU with eight. Kansas State, Oklahoma State and West Virginia all had six. They were trailed by Texas Tech (4), Iowa State (2), Texas (2) and Kansas (1).
Mayfield was named to the All-Big 12 Football First Team Offense along with sophomore running back Samaje Perine, senior wide receiver Sterling Shepard and senior offensive linemen Ty Darlington and Nila Kasitati. Defensively, OU was represented on the first team by senior defensive lineman Charles Tapper, senior linebacker Eric Striker, junior linebacker Dominique Alexander and junior defensive back Zack Sanchez.
Perine repeated on the first team as he leads the Big 12 in rushing touchdowns (15) and is fifth in the conference in rushing yards per game (107.6). He's done his best work over the last six games, averaging 145.2 yards per contest and scoring 12 touchdowns during the stretch. He ran for a season-high 201 yards and four touchdowns against Texas Tech and has gained at least 131 yards in each of the last three outings.
Shepard, who also repeated on the first team, has been one of the top wide receivers in college football this season. He ranks third in the Big 12 in both receptions per game (6.6) and receiving yards per game (100.1), while nationally he is 12th and 18th in those categories, respectively. In addition, Shepard ranks 10th in the country with 11 receiving touchdowns this year.
Darlington and Kasitati have helped anchor an offensive line that also features two freshmen and a sophomore that had played in one career game entering the season. Behind the strength of the seniors, OU has developed into the No. 7 total offense in the country, averaging 542.9 yards per game. On the ground, the Sooners rank 17th with 235.0 yards per game, while the passing offense sits 18th with 307.9 yards per contest. It's the first All-Big 12 honor of Darlington's career, while Kasitati earned honorable mention acclaim a year ago.
Tapper is averaging 0.58 sacks per game to rank eighth in the league. All 7.0 of his sacks this year came in a four-game stretch from Oct. 31-Nov. 21, including a career-high 3.0 against Kansas on Halloween. An honorable mention selection a year ago, he is tied for the league lead (eighth nationally) with four forced fumbles this season, and he averages 0.83 tackles for loss per contest, good for 17th in the league. Tapper has also recovered a fumble and broken up two passes.
One year after leading the Sooners in tackles, Alexander is back at again this year with a team-high 91 stops. He's tied for seventh in the Big 12 with 7.6 tackles per game and has 7.0 tackles for loss on the year with 1.5 sacks, an interception and two pass breakups. In starting all 12 games at inside linebacker, he's helped OU's defense lead the league in total yards (350.7 per game), points allowed (20.8), rushing yards (149.2) and passing yards (201.5). The honor is the first of Alexander's career.
A repeat first-team selection from a year ago and second-team pick from 2013, Striker leads Oklahoma with 16.0 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks this season. OU's all-time sack leader among linebackers, Striker ranks second and fifth, respectively, in those categories within the league and 24th and 42nd, nationally. He's fourth on the squad with 61 tackles and has a team-best 11 quarterback hurries to go with three pass breakups, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Like Striker, Sanchez was also a member of the first-team defense in 2014. Sanchez leads the Big 12 and is fourth in the country with six interceptions in 10 games, a rate of 0.6 per contest. In addition, he's second in the league in passes defended per game (1.3). Twice this year Sanchez has posted multiple interceptions in a game, doing so against TCU and Kansas State. One of his interceptions against the Wildcats was a pick-six, marking the third of his career to tie a school record.
Six OU players were named to the All-Big 12 Second Team. Redshirt freshman Mark Andrews earned a spot on offense, while sophomore defensive lineman Charles Walker, junior linebacker Jordan Evans, junior defensive back Ahmad Thomas, sophomore defensive back Jordan Thomas and freshman punter Austin Seibert were all selected for defense. It was the first career All-Big 12 honors for each of the six.
In addition, freshman Orlando Brown, sophomore fullback Dimitri Flowers and sophomore defensive back Steven Parker were each named honorable mention at their respective positions. Striker also received honorable mention for Defensive Player of the Year and Tapper had the same for Defensive Lineman of the Year.
Oklahoma has placed at least four players on the all-conference first team every season since 2000 and at least one player on the team every season since 1926 (90 years). OU has only had one season when playing in a conference without first-team honors (1925), marking 100 of 101 seasons.
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