The Home Depot College Football Awards Show aired on ESPN on Friday night, and while the Heisman Trophy had its own ceremony on Saturday, every other prestigious award was up for grabs in the presentations. More than one player deserves to be nominated for their efforts on the field this season, and these awards recognize that.
Three of the four Heisman finalists were quarterbacks, so the Davey O’Brien Award could offer an inside glimpse at who should start getting their speech ready for the following night. Which receiver took home the biggest honor in the country amid one of the deepest wide receiver classes in recent memory?
Here are the winners for each award announced on Friday night.
Daniels became the fifth SEC quarterback to be responsible for 50 touchdowns in a single season. Each of the other four won a Heisman. Daniels led the country with 11.7 yards per attempt and 40 touchdown passes, and he was responsible for at least four total touchdowns in nine of his 12 games.
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Wilson finished fifth in the nation with 138 total tackles, but his defensive impact extended far beyond that. His three interceptions were tied for the most among any FBS linebackers, and his 17.5 tackles for loss were tied for the third-most at his position. If all of that wasn’t enough, he tacked six sacks on top of the rest of his production.
McConkey won this award, given to the nation’s most impactful community service leaders, for his involvement with local youth, including a touching video on his relationship with a young fan who he got a signed jersey for.
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The most competitive award in the country went to arguably the best skill position player in the country. Harrison gained 1,211 yards, more than double any other Buckeyes weapon. He was on the receiving end of 14 of the Buckeyes’ 26 passing touchdowns this season, and he found the end zone multiple times in four different games.
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Bowers missed three games this season after he underwent ankle surgery to help repair a sprain, and he was still one of two FBS tight ends to finish with 700 receiving yards. He led the Bulldogs with 714 receiving yards and six touchdowns, including a three-game stretch from Week 4 to Week 6 when he had 24 receptions for 410 yards and four touchdowns.
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Iowa won the Big Ten West and finished with 10 wins despite the nation’s fourth-worst scoring offense. The Hawkeyes allowed the fourth-fewest points per game at just 13.2 points, and their 274.8 yards allowed per game was the fifth-best average in the country. They finished within the top 15 in both pass defense and rush defense.
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Washington finished the regular season undefeated and beat Oregon for a second time to win the Pac-12 Conference Championship despite being massive underdogs. The Huskies beat four ranked teams, one of them twice, and won seven of their last nine games by eight points or less to keep the undefeated year alive. Now, they own the nation’s longest winning streak at 20 consecutive games and will test it in the College Football Playoffs with a semifinal matchup against Texas.
The first Air Force player to ever win the Jim Thorpe Award, Taylor helped captain a secondary that finished the year sixth in the country in total defense, 13th in passing defense, and 14th in scoring defense. Taylor led the Falcons with three interceptions and broke up four more passes, and he also racked up 71 total tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss.
Nicholson led the nation with a 96.3% field goal percentage and made 35 of his 36 extra-point attempts to finish the year with 113 points. He made all 23 of his regular-season field goal attempts and made three of his four tries in the MAC Championship to help lead the RedHawks to an upset win.
An award meant for the player who best combines performance, leadership, community service, and academics would be hard-pressed to find a better nominee than a Heisman finalist. The Oregon quarterback and five-year Power 5 starter threw for 4,145 yards and 40 touchdowns this season, and he led the nation with a 77.2% completion percentage.
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Gordon only ran for 109 yards in the first three games of the season, but he exploded afterward. He ran for 1,505 yards in the final ten games of the season, including 282 yards against West Virginia and 271 yards against Cincinnati in back-to-back weeks. He found the end zone 20 times, including a five-touchdown game against BYU. He led the FBS in rushing yards and finished second in touchdowns despite not reaching 10 carries in a game until Week 4.
If you judged based only on his production, you’d be forgiven for not realizing Schrader walked onto the Missouri team. The senior finished third in the country with 1,499 rushing yards and he found the end zone 13 times. He surpassed 100 yards eight times this season, including a pair of 200-yard performances in his final three games.
The award for the best center in the country went to the anchor of the No. 2 scoring offense in the country. Powers-Johnson and the Oregon offensive line surrendered the fewest sacks in the country, and Powers-Johnson’s versatility and leadership helped power the high-flying offense.
The Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year was a one-man wrecking crew this season. He finished with 42 total tackles,
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Taylor is on the verge of the greatest punting season in the history of college football. His 4,119 punting yards are 19 yards short of the FBS single-season record with one more game to play. His 86 punts were 11 more than any other player in the country, and he still finished third in the country with an average of 47.90 yards per punt.
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