Nic Anderson, Peyton Bowen named finalists for Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award

After strong 2023 seasons, freshmen Nic Anderson and Peyton Bowen were named finalists for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award.

The Oklahoma Sooners had a ton of freshmen play this year. It wasn’t only in mop-up duty either. A number of freshmen played significant snaps for the Sooners in 2023.

Two players, Nic Anderson and Peyton Bowen, were key to Oklahoma’s success this year. And with their strong performances, they were named finalists for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award.

Anderson emerged early in the season as the Sooners’ No. 4 wide receiver. He caught touchdown passes left and right and came through on the Sooners’ biggest drive of the season with the game-winner against Texas. In that game Andrel Anthony was lost for the season due to a knee injury and Anderson became a starter for the Sooners on the outside.

This season, Anderson caught 31 passes for 725 yards and nine touchdowns. He was second on the team in yards and touchdowns. No player averaged more yards per reception than Anderson’s 23.4 yards per catch this season.

Peyton Bowen earned an opportunity to be a part of both the safety and cheetah rotations in Brent Venables’ defense. And though he battled injuries, put up a solid season with 33 total tackles, a tackle for loss, and a sack. He also had a pair of blocked punts and five passes defended.

Anderson and Bowen were part of a freshman group that led the nation in snaps among the top 25 teams. Oklahoma was the only school that had two freshmen nominated for the award.

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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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