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Oklahoma DB Lands National Award

The Sooners' Billy Bowman took home this week's trophy for defensive back of the week for his game-changing play at BYU.

John E. Hoover

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By OU Media Relations

NORMAN — University of Oklahoma defensive back Billy Bowman was named the Jim Thorpe Award National Defensive Back of the Week after his game-changing performance in OU’s 31-24 win at BYU on Saturday, the Jim Thorpe Award announced Wednesday.

Bowman returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown and registered nine tackles, including one for a loss. His interception came on a third-quarter first-and-goal play from the 2-yard line with the game tied at 17. It was the third 100-yard interception return in program history and OU's first since 2014. The interception was Bowman’s fifth of the season, tied for the most in the Big 12 and tied for second most nationally. It was his second interception returned for a TD this season (also had a 44-yarder vs. Iowa State), tied for the most in the country. His nine tackles against BYU marked his second-most of the year.

The junior safety from Denton, TX, leads the nation with his 193 interception return yards this season (the next most is 167 yards). Bowman’s interception yards are already the second most in OU single-season history. The record is 232 by College Football Hall of Famer Rickey Dixon in 1987 on nine picks.

Bowman ranks fourth on the team this season with 52 total tackles. His five interceptions and 3.0 tackles for loss are career highs, and he has been credited with four pass breakups.

This is Bowman’s first career national weekly award and Oklahoma’s first Thorpe Award National DB of the Week this season. He is the sixth different Sooner to win a national weekly award this season (totaling nine national weekly awards).

Redshirt senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel was named the Davey O’Brien National QB of the Week twice (Oct. 10 and Nov. 14), the Maxwell Award Player of the Week (Oct. 10) and the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week (Oct. 10). Junior linebacker Danny Stutsman was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 10), junior wide receiver Jalil Farooq was named the Paul Hornung Award Player of the Week (Oct. 10) and Walter Rouse was named the Outland Trophy Player of the Week (Oct. 10). Head coach Brent Venables was also named the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week on Oct. 9.

No. 13-ranked Oklahoma (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) plays its final Big 12 regular season game on Friday when the Sooners host TCU (5-6, 3-5 Big 12). Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. and the game will be televised by FOX.

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John E. Hoover
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.

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