Quarterback Dillon Gabriel was named Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year, receiver Marvin Mims Jr., offensive lineman Anton Harrison and punter Michael Turk were named to the All-Big 12 First Team and Oklahoma garnered three All-Big 12 Second Team honors, as announced by the conference office on Wednesday. Selections were made by the league's head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own players.
Gabriel is the fifth Oklahoma player to be named Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year and the first since quarterback Jalen Hurts in 2019. The others were wide receiver Dede Westbrook in 2015, running back Adrian Peterson in 2004 and quarterback Josh Heupel in 1999. OU has won 48 individual Big 12 awards, the most in the 27-year history of the league (Kansas State is second with 37).
The three Sooners named to the All-Big 12 Second Team were running back Eric Gray, tight end Brayden Willis and defensive lineman Ethan Downs. Turk was a first-team selection last year, Mims was a second-team selection in 2020 and this is the first All-Big 12 honor for Harrison, Gray, Willis and Downs.
Gabriel, a redshirt junior from Mililani, Hawai'i, leads the Big 12 in passing yards per game (265.9) and ranks second in the league in total offense (293.2 ypg), pass efficiency rating (154.2), yards per completion (13.5), yards per pass attempt (8.5) and passing touchdowns (24). He has completed 216 of 343 passes for 2,925 yards and rushed for 300 yards and five touchdowns. Gabriel has passed for at least 230 yards in eight of his 10 full games and at least one touchdown in nine contests. A transfer to OU from UCF, he was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week three times and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week once this season.
Mims, a junior from Frisco, Texas, ranks second in the Big 12 in receiving yards (1,006), receiving yards per game (83.8), yards per reception (19.4) and receiving touchdowns (6), despite ranking ninth in the league in receptions per game (4.3). He has registered at least 100 receiving yards four times, at least 80 yards in seven games and has scored two touchdowns twice, and his 52 receptions and 1,006 receiving yards represent career highs. Mims has also averaged 15.2 yards on nine punt returns with a long return of 41 yards.
A sixth-year senior from Dallas, Turk leads the Big 12 and ranks third nationally with his 46.7 punting average. He has 20 punts of at least 50 yards, including seven 60-yarders with a long of 67 yards. Twenty of his 60 punts this season (33%) have been downed inside the 20-yard line. Forty-eight of his punts have not been returned (80%) and the 12 returns have averaged only 2.8 yards per return with a long of 13 yards. He was a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award and was named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week on Oct. 31.
Harrison, a junior from Washington, D.C., has started all 12 games (11 at left tackle, the other at right tackle). He leads a line that has paved the way for an OU offense that leads the Big 12 and ranks 13th nationally in rushing (216.6 yards per game), ranks second in the Big 12 and 17th nationally in total offense (472.2 ypg) and averages 255.6 passing yards per contest and 5.0 yards per carry. He has started all 24 of his games over the last two seasons.
A senior from Memphis, Tenn., Gray leads the Big 12 and ranks 13th nationally by averaging 6.4 yards per carry. He also ranks second in the Big 12 in rushing yards (1,366) and rushing yards per game (113.8) and ranks third in all-purpose yards per outing (132.9). He is tied for seventh nationally (leads the Big 12) with his 43 carries of at least 10 yards and his 14 carries of at least 20 yards. Gray has eight 100-yard rushing games and eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards for the first time in his career, reaching that mark in 10 games, the fastest by a Sooner since Adrian Peterson in 2004. His 1,364 rushing yards stand as the ninth-most in OU single-season history.
Willis, a fifth-year senior from Arlington, Texas, leads OU and ranks fifth nationally among tight ends with his seven receiving touchdowns. He has made 35 receptions for 456 yards (13.0 yards per catch), which represent personal career bests, and has notched two touchdown receptions three times this season. Willis has also rushed 10 times for 26 yards, threw a TD pass against Nebraska and participates on multiple special teams units for the Sooners.
Downs, a sophomore from Weatherford, Okla., has started all 12 games this season and leads the Sooners with 12.5 tackles for loss and is tied for the team lead with 4.5 sacks. More than one-third of his 37 tackles this season have been for lost yardage. He also paces the team with nine QB hurries, recovered a fumble and has been credited with three pass breakups. He has made at least three stops in each of the last six games and has 6.0 TFLs and 2.0 sacks over the last three contests.
Several Sooners also earned honorable mention recognition (at least one vote) at their respective positions and/or for individual awards: Gabriel (quarterback), Harrison (offensive lineman of the year), Mims (kick returner/punt returner), Turk (special teams player of the year), Billy Bowman and Justin Broiles (defensive back), C.J. Coldon (defensive newcomer of the year), Chris Murray and Andrew Raym (offensive line) and Danny Stutsman, David Ugwoegbu and DaShaun White (linebacker).
Oklahoma has boasted at least one all-conference player every season since 1926 (95 years). OU has only had one season when playing in a conference without first-team honors (1925), marking 106 of 107 seasons.
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