Pair of Sooners named semifinalists for Freshman of the Year Award

Two Oklahoma Sooners freshmen were named semifinalists for national Freshman of the Year Award.

One of the best things so far about the 2023 season for the Oklahoma Sooners is seeing all of the young talent making big plays.

Whether it’s catching a touchdown on what feels like every pass thrown his way, including the biggest moment in the [autotag]Cotton Bowl[/autotag] like [autotag]Nic Anderson[/autotag] or blocking two punts and causing a huge fumble in that Cotton Bowl win like [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag], those two guys seem to always make plays.

Anderson has 17 catches for 405 yards and leads the team with eight touchdowns. Bowen has 25 tackles, 1.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks, one forced fumble, and two blocked punts on the year.

Due to how well both have played this season, they are among 14 semifinalists for the [autotag]2023 Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award[/autotag]. According to a press release from the [autotag]University of Oklahoma[/autotag], the Sooners are the only program with two semifinalists for the award, which was first presented in 2018 and is given each year to the outstanding freshman player in college football.

While the award is still new, no Sooner has actually ever won the award. But if the season continues the way it has for both of these guys, and Bowen can get healthy, they have as good a chance as anyone nationally to take it home.

The finalists for the sixth annual award will be announced on Nov. 29, 2023, and the award winner will be announced on Dec. 27, 2023.

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