2017 Heisman Trophy

No. 6 has made it No. 6.

On Saturday, Oklahoma redshirt senior quarterback Baker Mayfield was announced as the winner of the 2017 Heisman Trophy, awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football.

It was a big weekend for the Sooners as Billy Sims could be heard shouting “Boomer!” all the way from New York City when he helped welcome Mayfield into the exclusive group he is a part of too.

Mayfield is the sixth Heisman winner in program history, joining Billy Vessels (1952), Steve Owens (1969), Sims (1978), Jason White (2003), and Sam Bradford (2008). Only Notre Dame and Ohio State have more Heisman winners than OU with seven apiece. 

Mayfield’s list of accomplishments this season are extensive. To name just a few, the redshirt senior has completed 262-of-369 passes for a career-high 3,430 yards and 41 touchdowns to just five interceptions and has also added five rushing scores. Mayfield leads the nation in five categories, including completion percentage (.710) and passing efficiency rating (203.8). His passing efficiency rating mark is on pace to break his own FBS record of 196.4 set last year.

The Austin, Texas, native has thrown a touchdown in every Big 12 game of his OU career, a conference-record 39 straight games, and has recorded at least two scores through the air in 26 consecutive contests.         

The Heisman Trophy is the latest hardware for Mayfield. This season, he has also been recognized as AP Player of the Year, Walter Camp Player of the Year, and with the Maxwell Award, all given to the nation’s top player. He also claimed the Davey O’Brien Award, which recognizes the top quarterback.

Here’s a look at some of OU’s rich Heisman history and the elite group of Sooners Mayfield joins. 

In 2008, Sam Bradford led the most explosive offense in college football that season, completing 328 of his 483 pass attempts for 4,720 and a school-record 50 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. The Oklahoma City, Okla., native also led the nation in passing efficiency and scored five rushing touchdowns. 

Jason White and the 2003 Sooners scored 601 total points on the season, then a school record. The Tuttle, Okla., native put up an impressive four to one touchdown to interception ratio and set the program record at the time for touchdown passes with 40 and twice posted five touchdowns in one game.

As a junior, Billy Simms led the nation in rushing as he set a Big Eight single-season rushing record with 1,762 yards on 231 carries. In a school-record four games, the Hooks, Texas, native recorded at least 200 yards. He paced the Sooners to an 11-1 record and a third-place finish nationally.

In his Heisman season, Steve Owens tallied 1,523 yards on 358 carries and scored a then-school record 23 touchdowns. Owens, who was from Miami, Okla., carried the load for OU’s offense, posting two 200-plus yard games and helping the Sooners to an average of 28.5 points per game.  

OU’s first Heisman winner, Billy Vessels rushed for 1,072 yards on 167 carries and scored 17 touchdowns during his senior season en route to the trophy. Vessels, a Cleveland, Okla., native, was a versatile component of the Sooner offense, even connecting on seven passes for two touchdowns.

Next up, Mayfield and the No. 2 Sooners will make an appearance in the College Football Playoff as they take on No. 3 Georgia in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. The game will air on ESPN at 4 p.m. CT on Jan. 1.