Nine Sooners earn All-Big 12 accolades
Offensive lineman Creed Humphrey was named Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year for the second consecutive season and Oklahoma landed nine All-Big 12 first- or second-Team selections, the league office announced Thursday, as voted on by Big 12 head coaches.
Humphrey’s Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year honor was Oklahoma’s fifth in a row behind Orlando Brown (2016 and ’17) and Dru Samia in 2018.
OU has won 47 individual Big 12 awards, the most in the 25-year history of the league (Kansas State is second with 35).
H-back Jeremiah Hall and kicker Gabe Brkic joined Humphrey on the All-Big 12 first team, while six Sooners were named All-Big 12 second team: cornerback Tre Brown, offensive lineman Adrian Ealy, wide receiver Marvin Mims and defensive linemen Ronnie Perkins, Isaiah Thomas and Perrion Winfrey.
A redshirt junior from Shawnee, OK, Humphrey has started all nine games this season and 35 in his career, including 34 consecutive starts dating back to the 2018 season. According to Pro Football Focus, Humphrey has not allowed a sack in his collegiate career (2,327 snaps over 37 career games) and is the Big 12’s highest-graded center this season (has a 78.6 grade run-blocking and allowed only four pressures on 263 pass blocking snaps). Last year he was a consensus second-team All-American and a finalist for the Rimington Trophy, and in 2018 was a freshman All-American.
Hall, a redshirt junior from Charlotte, N.C., earned All-Big 12 honors at fullback for the second year in a row. He was a second-team all-conference selection in 2019. Hall ranks second on the team with five touchdown receptions and has caught 15 passes for 173 yards (11.5 yards per reception).
Brkic, a redshirt sophomore, has made 16-of-21 field goals and all 40 of his PAT attempts in eight games this season. He has converted 6-of-10 from 40 yards or longer, including three from at least 50 yards and a career-long 51-yarder at Iowa State on Oct. 3. The Chardon, OH, product ranks third nationally with 2.0 made field goals per game and 10th (second among kickers) with his 10.6 points per game. Brkic is semifinalist for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award.
Brown, a senior cornerback from Tulsa, OK, has made two interceptions and has a team-high five pass breakups to go along with his 29 total tackles (23 solo, one for loss). His first interception of the season sealed OU’s 53-45 four-overtime win over Texas on Oct. 10, and his second came against Kansas on Nov. 7. Brown’s 30 career pass breakups are tied for sixth-most all-time at OU.
Ealy, a junior from Gonzales, LA, was also a second-team All-Big 12 selection in 2019. He has started all nine games this season (the first at left tackle and the rest at right tackle) to up his career total to 21. He and Humphrey anchor an OU offensive line that leads the Big 12 in total offense (485.1 yards per game), scoring offense (43.4 points per game) and passing offense (327.1 yards per game) and averages 158.0 rushing yards per contest.
Mims has already tied the OU freshman record with seven receiving touchdowns, and he did so in his first seven games of the season. The Frisco, TX, product leads the Sooners with 482 receiving yards on 29 catches (16.6 average). He has recorded at least 50 receiving yards in five games and was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 26 after gaining 132 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions, including a season-long 61-yard TD catch at TCU. Mims also ranks seventh nationally with his 12.9 yards per punt return (12 returns for 155 yards).
Perkins has accounted for 4.0 quarterback sacks, 8.0 tackles for loss and six QB hurries in four games this season after missing the first five contests serving NCAA suspension. The junior from St. Louis has recorded at least four tackles and 1.5 TFLs in all four of his games. He was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 23 after with three TFLs and two sacks in OU’s 41-13 Nov. 21 win over Oklahoma State.
Thomas has started all nine games this season and leads the team with 8.0 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss (a total of 69 lost yards). The redshirt junior from Tulsa also leads the Big 12 with his 0.9 sacks per game. He has recorded 6.5 sacks over his last four contests, including career highs of six tackles, 3.0 TFLs and 2.5 sacks against Baylor on Dec. 5.
Winfrey, a Maywood, IL, product, has made a huge impact on the Sooners’ young defensive line during his first season at OU. A junior college transfer from Iowa Western Community College, Winfrey has played in all nine games and made six starts. He has totaled 17 tackles, including six for loss, and registered three pass breakups and a QB hurry. He also recorded a blocked field goal in the third overtime in the win against Texas.
Several Sooners also earned honorable mention recognition at their respective positions: redshirt sophomore linebacker Brian Asamoah, redshirt sophomore linebacker Nik Bonitto, redshirt junior offensive lineman Marquis Hayes, Mims (kick/punt returner), redshirt junior defensive back Tre Norwood, redshirt freshman quarterback Spencer Rattler, senior running back Rhamondre Stevenson, sophomore tight end Austin Stogner, junior defensive back Delarrin Turner-Yell, sophomore wide receiver Theo Wease and junior linebacker DaShaun White. In addition, Brkic (special teams), freshman defensive back D.J. Graham (defensive freshman), Mims (offensive freshman), Rattler (offensive player/offensive freshman), Thomas (defensive lineman), redshirt freshman defensive back Woodi Washington (defensive freshman), and Winfrey (defensive newcomer) received at least one vote each for the respective individual awards.
Oklahoma has placed at least three players on the All-Big 12 first team every season since 2000 and has boasted at least one all-conference player every season since 1926 (93 years). OU has only had one season when playing in a conference without first-team honors (1925), marking 104 of 105 seasons.
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