Mayfield Wins Burlsworth Trophy for Second Time

SPRINGDALE, Ark. — Oklahoma redshirt junior quarterback Baker Mayfield became the first ever two-time winner of the Burlsworth Trophy on Monday. The award, presented during a ceremony at the Northwest Arkansas Convention Center, has been given annually since 2010 to college football's most outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on.

Mayfield, who was joined by Northwestern wide receiver Austin Carr and Washington State quarterback Luke Falk as finalists for the award, has guided the Sooners to a 10-2 record, a second straight Big 12 Championship and a berth in the Allstate Sugar Bowl against Auburn on Jan. 2.

"With what the award is all about and everything that comes with it, it's very special to me," Mayfield said of winning for a second time. "Just being back here was enough for me, but it's very humbling and an honor to bring the award back home again. I'll cherish this and enjoy it."

After a dinner and reception in their honor Sunday night, Mayfield and the other finalists were treated to a special screening of the movie Greater, based on the life of Brandon Burlsworth, the trophy's namesake. Seeing the film helped bring Mayfield a new appreciation for the trophy and what it represents.

"It added so much," he said of seeing the movie. "I knew Brandon's story and knew all about him, but a lot of the movie was about how he impacted his family and how it affected them. Seeing their perspective on a lot of things was special. The character he had meant a lot and went a long ways; it made it much more special."

Mayfield, who is also a finalist for the Maxwell Award (collegiate player of the year) and Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback of the year), has thrown for an average of 305.8 yards per game and has a career-high 38 touchdown passes against eight interceptions (4.8 ratio). The Austin, Texas, native leads the nation in pass efficiency rating (197.8; the NCAA single-season record is 191.8; next highest Power 5 figure this year is 176.5), completion percentage (71.2) and yards per pass attempt (11.1; only one other player is above 10.0).

The winner of the 2015 Burlsworth Trophy, Mayfield also ranks second nationally with 22 completions of at least 40 yards (leader has 23 and has played one more game), third in points responsible for (22.3 per game) and yards per completion (15.6), and fourth in passing TDs (38).

Within conference play, Mayfield accounted for at least four touchdowns in seven of the team's nine games and had three in the other two contests. He led the Big 12 in conference play in passing TDs (31; next most was 27; third most was 20), completion percentage (.735; next best was .641) and pass efficiency rating (208.9; next best was 158.8).

For the purposes of the award, a walk-on is defined as a player who began his first season of participation with an FBS program without financial aid of any kind from his university's athletics department. Mayfield began his collegiate career as a walk-on at Texas Tech in 2013.

The Burlsworth Trophy is named in honor of former University of Arkansas walk-on offensive lineman Brandon Burlsworth, who became a three-year Razorback starter and was eventually named an All-American in 1998. Burlsworth was selected 63rd overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the 1999 NFL Draft but was tragically killed in a car accident 11 days later. The Burlsworth Foundation was created in his memory and supports the physical and spiritual needs of children, in particular those children who have limited opportunities.