All Sooners

Oklahoma DB Billy Bowman Named to Jim Thorpe Watch List

The senior from Denton, TX, recorded six interceptions last year, including a school record three returned for touchdowns.

Bryce McKinnis

Oklahoma Sooners safety Billy Bowman Jr. (2) brings down Arizona Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita
Oklahoma Sooners safety Billy Bowman Jr. (2) brings down Arizona Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita / Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. has been named to the 2024 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award watchlist.

Presented by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, the Jim Thorpe Award has been awarded annually to the best defensive back in college football since 1987.

Bowman, a junior safety from Denton, TX, was an All-Big 12 First Team selection and a CBS Sports All-American pick in 2023. He started all 13 games for the Sooners and picked off six passes last year, tied for second in the nation, and led all of college football with three runbacks for touchdowns, as well as in return yardage (238) — both school records..

Bowman spoke about his expectations for the approaching season at SEC Media Days in Dallas on July 16.

"We're very confident. The preparation we have put in, the work we have put in, it
allows us to be confident," Bowman said. "Ever since the [Alamo Bowl] game ended in San Antonio versus Arizona, we've been hitting the road hard, working, grinding extra, doing everything we can to obviously come out here and perform better than we did last year."

Oklahoma has produced three Thorpe winners, the most of any university: Rickey Dixon in 1987, Roy Williams in 2001 and Derrick Strait in 2003.

Bowman was previously announced on the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Award (along with OU linebacker Danny Stutsman) as the top overall defensive player in the nation.

The 5-foot-10, 200-pound senior from Denton, TX, has started 29 of his 35 games at OU, including all 13 last season, when he made a career-high 63 tackles, three tackles for loss and four passes defensed.

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Bryce McKinnis
BRYCE MCKINNIS

Bryce is a contributor for AllSooners and has been featured in several publications, including the Associated Press, the Tulsa World and the Norman Transcript. A Tishomingo native, Bryce’s sports writing career began at 17 years old when he filed his first story for the Daily Ardmoreite. As a student at the University of Central Oklahoma, he worked on several award-winning projects, including The Vista’s coverage of the 2021 UCO cheer hazing scandal. After graduating in 2021, Bryce took his first job covering University of Tulsa and Oral Roberts University sports for the Tulsa World before accepting a role as managing editor of VYPE Magazine in 2022. - UCO Mass Communications/Sports Feature (2019) - UCO Mass Communications/Investigative Reporting (2021) - UCO College of Liberal Arts/Academic presentation, presidential politics and ideology (2021) - OBEA/Multimedia reporting (2021) - Beat Writer, The Tulsa World (2021-2022) - Managing Editor, VYPE Magazine (2022-2023)