Drake Stoops nominated for Burlsworth Trophy

The award, previously won by Baker Mayfield, honors the nation's top player who began his career as a walk on.

John E. Hoover | Dec 8, 2020

Oklahoma receiver Drake Stoops has been nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy, which goes to the nation’s top college football player who began his career as a walk-on.

In his third season with the Sooners, the sophomore from Norman has 12 receptions for 185 yards and two touchdowns.

In his career, Stoops has caught 22 passes for 296 yards and two scores.

The Burlsworth Trophy is named after former Arkansas offensive lineman Brandon Burlsworth, who walked onto the Razorbacks’ team, then worked his way into becoming a three-year starter, an All-SEC talent and eventually the 63rd pick in the NFL Draft. Burlsworth was tragically killed in 1999 in a car accident, just 11 days after he was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts.

There are 67 nominees for this year’s Burlsworth Trophy. Former OU quarterback Baker Mayfield became the first two-time winner of the award when he won it in 2015 and 2016.

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Published Dec 8, 2020

JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.