Tag: Newcomer of the year

Dillon Gabriel shares Big 12 newcomer of the week honors

After he completed 75 percent of his passes and threw three touchdowns, Sooners QB Dillon Gabriel was named Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week.

Dillon Gabriel entered the 2022 season with relatively lofty expectations. It makes sense considering he transferred into Oklahoma with over 8,000 passing yards and 70 touchdowns before he took a snap in an Oklahoma uniform.

The Big 12 media recognized this and named him preseason Newcomer of the Year.

The next task for Gabriel was to go out and prove them correct. Gabriel has looked very good thru two games as the Sooners’ starting quarterback. He was awarded for his efforts this against Kent State, being named Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week with Iowa State linebacker Colby Reeder.

Gabriel’s play in the Sooners’ matchup was very steady, and kicked it up a notch just before halftime. Getting the ball with just over a minute to play, Gabriel orchestrated a five-play drive that culminated in a 36-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Mims. Gabriel was 5 of 5 for 76 yards on the drive, which gave Oklahoma its first lead of the game.

The Sooners entered halftime up 7-3 in a game where they were as 30-point favorites. Whatever was said during halftime clearly lit a fire, and they came out and looked like a top 10 team.

Gabriel’s final numbers were 21/28, for a 75% completion percentage, 296 passing yards, and three touchdowns.

He was surgical all game, even when things weren’t going right. When an opportunity presented itself, he took over.

Two of his touchdown passes went to Marvin Mims, who quickly became Gabriel’s favorite target. The other was an 18-yard pass to slot receiver Drake Stoops who hit the pylon with just one shoe on.

The games will continue to get a bit more challenging as the Sooners wrap up their non-conference schedule against former Big 8 and Big 12 rival Nebraska. After their road trip to Lincoln, they’ll return home to face Kansas State the following week in a primetime matchup.

Gabriel’s command and comfort in this offense could lead to more big days.

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Sooners Dillon Gabriel, Michael Turk receive All-Big 12 honors despite no team selections

Oklahoma punter Michael Turk and transfer QB Dillon Gabriel received preseason Big 12 honors.

Football season is fast approaching and with that comes all of the preseason hype trains, preseason awards, and all the other preseason predictions that come with the days leading up to the actual season.

Oklahoma sent multiple guys to the NFL this past spring and while it’s an honor to see them live out their dreams it also means they have the hefty task of figuring out who are the next wave of stars they will be depending on this upcoming season.

After nine All-Big 12 preseason picks last year, the Sooners will only reload this year with two.

Two names that the Big 12 believes are due for great seasons is that of transfer turned starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel who was named preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year on Wednesday by the league office.

Gabriel, a transfer from UCF, has totaled 8,037 yards and 70 touchdowns against 14 interceptions in his college career.  He’s completing 60.7% of his passes and has rushed for 372 yards and eight touchdowns.

He has a strong relationship with Sooners’ offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby who was his coach for two years at UCF before Lebby would move on to Ole Miss. Much of Gabriel’s college success was under the tutelage of Lebby and with both reunited in Norman, it’s more than reasonable to suspect Gabriel could be in for a big year throwing to Marvin Mims, Theo Wease, Jalil Farooq, and other talented playmakers.

Gabriel becomes the second straight Oklahoma player to be tabbed preseason of the year as last year Eric Gray earned the honor. Gray and Gabriel figure to spend a lot of time together in the backfield as both look penciled in as starters at their respective positions.

Michael Turk also received preseason recognition which follows his 2021 season where he was named All-Big 12 First team at punter. Turk was a weapon for Oklahoma especially early on when their offense struggled at times.

His ability to flip the field averaging 51.2 yards on 35 punts was game-changing at times. Twenty of his punts went for at least 50 yards and eight went for at least 60, while 16 punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. He’ll be depended on once again to help flip the field and make things tougher for opposing offenses by pinning them deep in their territory.

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Tank Bigsby named AP SEC Newcomer of the Year

Tank Bigsby named Newcomer of the Year by AP to close impressive freshman campaign.

Auburn star freshman running back Tank Bigsby was named the AP’s SEC Newcomer of the Year.

Kicker Anders Carlson was a first-team All-SEC selection by the AP. Bigsby and safety Smoke Monday were named to the second-team.

Bigsby rushed for 834 yards and five touchdowns on 138 carries. His 834 yards are the second-most ever by an Auburn freshman.

Carlson made 18 of his 20 field goals and 23 of his 24 extra point attempts. Monday has 64 tackles, 1.0 sack, 2.0 tackles for loss and two interceptions.

The 2020 AP All-SEC team, as selected by a panel of 18 sports writers and sportscasters who regularly cover the league, with name, school, height, weight, class and hometown. (“u-” denotes unanimous selection):

FIRST TEAM

Offense

QB — Mac Jones, Alabama, 6-3, 214, RJr., Jacksonville, Florida.

RB — u-Najee Harris, Alabama, 6-2, 230, Sr., Antioch, California.

RB — Kevin Harris, South Carolina, 5-10, 225, So., Hinesville, Georgia.

T — u-Alex Leatherwood, Alabama, 6-6, 312, Sr., Pensacola, Florida.

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T — Darian Kinnard, Kentucky, 6-5, 345, Jr., Knoxville, Tennessee.

C — Landon Dickerson, Alabama, 6-6, 325, RSr., Hickory, North Carolina.

G — Trey Smith, Tennessee, 6-6, 330, Sr., Jackson, Tennessee.

G — Ben Cleveland, Georgia, 6-6, 335, Sr., Taccoa, Georgia.

TE — u-Kyle Pitts, Florida, 6-4, 225, Jr., Philadelphia.

WR — u-DeVonta Smith, Alabama, 6-1, 175, Sr, Amite, Louisiana.

WR — Elijah Moore, Mississippi, 5-9, 184, Jr., Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

All-Purpose — Kadarius Toney, 5-11, 194, Sr., Mobile, Alabama.

K — Anders Carlsen, Auburn, 6-5, 215, Jr., Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Defense

DE — Dayo Odeyingbo, Vanderbilt, 6-6, 276, Sr., Irving, Texas.

DE — Trajan Jeffcoat, Missouri, 6-3, 265, RSo., Irmo, South Carolina.

DT — Christian Barmore, Alabama, 6-5, 310, RSo., Philadelphia.

DT — Bobby Brown III, Texas A&M, 6-4, 325, Jr., Arlington, Texas.

LB — Nick Bolton, Missouri, 6-2, 232, Jr., Frisco, Texas.

LB — Grant Morgan, Arkansas, 5-11, 222, RSr., Greenwood, Arkansas.

LB — Monty Rice, Georgia, 6-1, 235, Sr., Huntsville, Alabama.

CB — Patrick Surtain II, Alabama, 6-2, 202, Jr., Plantation, Florida.

CB — Erik Stokes, Georgia, 6-1, 185, Jr., Covington, Georgia.

S — Richard LeCounte, Georgia, 5-11, 190, Sr., Riceboro, Georgia.

S — Jalen Catalon, Arkansas, 5-10, 189, RFr., Mansfield, Texas.

P — Jake Camarda, Georgia, 6-2, 180, Jr., Norcross, Georgia.

SECOND TEAM

Offense

QB — Kyle Trask, Florida, 6-5, 240, Sr., Manvel, Texas.

RB — Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M, 6-1, 225, So., Spring, Texas.

RB — Tank Bigsby, Auburn, 6-0, 204, Fr., LaGrange, Georgia.

T — Landon Young, Kentucky, 6-7, 321, Sr., Lexington, Kentucky.

T — Carson Green, Texas A&M, 6-6, 320, Sr., Southlake, Texas.

G — Kenyon Green, Texas A&M, 6-4, 325, So., Humble, Texas.

G — Deonte Brown, Alabama, 6-4, 350, RSr., Decatur, Alabama.

C — Drake Jackson, Kentucky, 6-2, 292, Sr., Versailles, Kentucky.

TE — Jalen Wydermyer, Texas A&M, 6-5, 265, So., Dickinson, Texas.

WR — Treylon Burks, Arkansas, 6-3, 232, So., Warren, Arkansas.

WR — Kadarius Toney, Florida, 5-11, 194, Sr., Mobile, Alabama.

All-Purpose — Jerrion Ealy, Mississippi, 5-8, 190, So., Walnut Grove, Mississippi.

K — Cade York, LSU, 6-1, 198, So., McKinney, Texas.

Defense

DE — Ali Gaye, LSU, 6-6, 262, Jr., Lynnwood, Washington.

DE — Brenton Cox Jr., Florida, 6-4, 249, Jr., Lithonia, Georgia.

DT — Kingsley Enagbare, South Carolina, 6-4, 270, Jr., Atlanta.

DT — Jonathan Marshall, Arkansas, 6-3, 317, RSr., Shepherd, Texas.

LB — Azeez Ojulari, Georgia, 6-3, 240, RSo., Marietta, Georgia.

LB — Willie Anderson Jr., Alabama, 6-4, 235, Fr., Hampton, Georgia.

LB — Henry To’o To’o, Tennessee, 6-2, 225, So., Sacramento, California.

CB — Kaiir Elam, Florida, 6-2, 194, So., Riviera Beach, Florida.

CB — Eli Ricks, LSU, 6-2, 196, Fr., Rancho Cucamonga, California.

S — Smoke Munday, Auburn, 6-2, 196, Jr., Atlanta.

S — Malachi Moore, Alabama, 6-0, 182, Fr., Trussville, Alabama.

P — Max Duffy, Kentucky, 6-1, 190, Sr., Perth, Australia.

___

Coach of the year — Nick Saban, Alabama.

Offensive player of the year — DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama.

Defensive player of the year — Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama.

Newcomer of the year — Tank Bigsby, RB, Auburn.