2 Sooners enjoy the spotlight together
Mayfield and Westbrook are first teammates to be finalists since 2005
NEW YORK — Together, Baker Mayfield and Dede Westbrook were practically unstoppable for Oklahoma.
Mayfield is one of the most productive quarterbacks in college football and something of a magician in the pocket, escaping trouble to make something out of nothing. Westbrook is a big gain waiting to happen, a wide receiver who can turn just about any play into a touchdown.
The case could be made that neither would have been a Heisman Trophy finalist without the other, and Westbrook is happy to have a friend around during a hectic week on the awards circuit.
“I would be so much more nervous than I am if he wasn’t here. It’s just good to always look over and see him smiling and me just smiling back at him,” Westbrook said.
The two Sooners, along with Michigan’s Jabrill Peppers and Louisville’s Lamar Jackson, met with reporters at a hotel in Manhattan on Friday, not long after arriving in New York. They were all in Atlanta on Thursday night at the College Football Hall of Fame for an awards show that was on ESPN.
Jackson took home the Maxwell Player of the Year award and Westbrook won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver.
The other Heisman finalist, Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, won the Heisman Trophy finalists Lamar Jackson (Louisville), left, Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma), Jabrill Peppers (Michigan) and Dede Westbrook (Oklahoma) get a feel for the award. The winner of the trophy will be announced tonight in New York. Davey O’Brien Award, beating out Jackson for the honor that goes to the most outstanding quarterback. Watson was not scheduled to get to NewYork until today. He had to stop in Baltimore to pick up the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, which goes to the best upperclassman quarterback.
The biggest prize gets handed out tonight, and Jackson is the favorite.
Westbrook and Mayfield are the first teammates to be finalists since 2005, when Southern California’s Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart finished first and third in the voting, respectively. The last time teammates fin- ished in the top five of the Heisman voting was 2008, when another Big 12 pass-catch combo did it. Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell and wide receiver Michael Crabtree finished fourth and fifth, respectively, behind Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, Texas’ Colt McCoy and Florida’s Tim Tebow.
Mayfield leads the nation in passer efficiency rating and is on pace to break the Football Bowl Subdivision record at 197.75. He has thrown for 3,669 yards and 38 touchdowns for the Big 12 Conference champions. Mayfield also leads the nation in yards per completion at 11.1, a number helped mightily by Westbrook. The senior is averaging 19.8 yards per catch. His 16 touchdowns have covered an average of 48.8 yards.
“You put in so much work during the offseason,” Mayfield said. “The extra work that Dede and I put in together, with routes, just working on perfecting our craft. It’s kind of like it’s a reward for all the work we put in.”
Westbrook is just happy to be here. He said he does not expect to win and is looking forward to hearing Mayfield’s speech instead of making one himself, as he did in Atlanta. But Mayfield’s presence is not always calming for Westbrook — especially when the quarterback reminded him of the millions of TV viewers who would be watching him Thursday night.
“He wasn’t trying to make me nervous. He did make me nervous. And that’s why I told him I’m not nervous now because I know tomorrow I’m not going to be walking up there accepting the Heisman Trophy, that he will,” Westbrook said.