Mayfield is named AP Player of Year

Tennessee tabs Alabama defensive coordinator

NEW YORK — Baker Mayfield is The Associated Press college football Player of the Year, becoming the fourth Oklahoma quarterback to win the award since it was established in 1998.

Mayfield easily outpointed Stanford running back Bryce Love, who came in second. Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson, the other finalist and last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, was third in the award announced Thursday.

Mayfield received 51 first-place votes from the 56 AP college football poll voters who submitted player-of-the-year ballots, and a total of 157 points. Love (83 points) and Jackson (39 points) each received two first-place votes and Penn State running Saquon Barkley received a first-place vote and came in fourth.

Mayfield, Love and Jackson are also the finalists for the Heisman, which will be handed out Saturday night in New York.

Mayfield also won the Walter Camp and Maxwell Award as player of the year as well as the Davey O’Brien Award as the top quarterback. Those three awards were presented to him Thursday night at ESPN’s college football awards show in Atlanta.

OTHER AWARDS: Also, Alabama strong safety Minkah Fitzpatrick won the Chuck Bednarik as the nation’s top defensive player; Stanford’s Bryce Love won the Doak Walker award for best running back; Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver was voted the nation’s top interior lineman and won the Outland Trophy; Oklahoma State’s James Washington won the Biletnikoff award for best receiver; Utah’s Matt Gay won the Lou Groza award for top place-kicker; and Texas punter Michael Dickwon won the Ray Guy Award.

Scott Frost, who took the Nebraska head coaching job after leading Central Florida to a 12-0 record and the American Athletic Conference championship two years after he inherited an 0-12 team, was named national coach of the year; Iowa won the Disney Spirit Award for its new tradition of nearly everyone in 70,585-seat Kinnick Stadium turning to wave to the pediatric patients watching from across the street inside the Stead Family Children’s Hospital at the end of the first quarter; Oklahoma’s Mark Andrews won the John Mackey Award as the top tight end; Ohio State’s Billy Price won the Rimington Award as the outstanding center; and Kentucky linebacker Courtney Love won the Wuerffel Trophy for community service.

TENNESSEE: The school has hired Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt as its head coach, capping a tumultuous search that cost an athletic director his job as the Volunteers attempt to recover from one of their most disappointing seasons. Pruitt agreed to a six-year deal that will pay him $3.8 million annually plus various benefits.

Pruitt’s hiring comes six days after former Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer was named athletic director and put in charge of the coaching search. Fulmer took over for John Currie, who was suspended just eight months into the job as Tennessee investigates whether it can fire him for cause.

Pruitt replaces Butch Jones, who was fired Nov. 12 after going 34-27 in five seasons. Tennessee went 4-8 this season.

Pruitt also was defensive coordinator for Florida State’s 2013 national championship team, which led the nation in scoring defense. He worked an initial stint on Alabama’s staff from 2007-12, when he helped the Crimson Tide win national titles in 2009, 2011 and 2012. The former defensive back played collegiately at both Middle Tennessee and Alabama.

COLORADO STATE: Rams assistants Will Friend (offensive coordinator) and Terry Fair (cornerbacks) are leaving for Tennessee to join Pruitt’s staff. Neither Friend nor Fair will coach for CSU against Marshall in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 16, the Coloradoan of Fort Collins reported.

OREGON STATE: Mike Riley is returning to OSU. Most recently head coach at Nebraska, Riley was coach at Oregon State twice (199798 and 2003-14). He will serve as an assistant head coach with a “to-be-determined” assignment under new coach Jonathan Smith.

SOUTH ALABAMA: The school hired Central Arkansas coach Steve Campbell to lead its football program. Campbell replaces Joey Jones, who had been the program’s only coach since its startup a decade ago.