Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford was named player of the year by the Associated Press; the announcement was made the Monday after his election. This is the third award he has won this year, having already received the Davey O’Brien Award and the Heisman Trophy. For this award he was competing against Colt McCoy of Texas and Tim Tebow of Florida, the same players who were competing with him for the Heisman Trophy. Bradford received 27 votes followed by McCoy with 17 and Tebow with 16.
Josh Heupel, the current quarterbacks coach and former Oklahoma player who won the same award in 2000, said Bradford deserved the award for all the effort he’s been putting in even in the offseason. He also explained that Bradford has grown a lot with this three-year process and that he has gained character to have a leadership role in the team as quarterback, his teammates really believe in him and that is what makes the difference.
The team’s next goal is to fight for the National Championship against the University of Florida in Miami. They are a very competitive team and have the same record that Oklahoma has for the season, 12-1.
“Playing in the national championship is something we’ve talked about in the three years I’ve been here, and we’ve yet to do it,” Bradford said. “So to have that opportunity…it’s really exciting. My teammates and I are really ready to get there.”
His teammates are very proud of him and believe that he deserves the awards, especially since he is a great guy who is still down to earth. They also consider that the awards he has received are also for the team because the effort is from all together.
Bradford have also put in a great effort this season. He was injured in the game against Oklahoma State when he tore ligaments in the thumb of his left hand on November 29, but despite that, he played in the game against Missouri for the Big 12 title on December 6 despite the fact that I was going to have surgery the next day.
This has been one of the best seasons for the Oklahoma team; they have scored 702 total points, surpassing the record set by Hawaii in 2006 of 656. They are also the first college team in 89 years to score 60 points in five straight games.
Bradford began his career with the Oklahoma Sooners in 2006, when he was fighting for the starting quarterback job after Rhett Bomar was banned from the NCAA for violating rules. He won the starting position for the 2007 season, where he proved that he really deserved the job as he had a very good season and the team won the Big 12 conference but lost the Fiesta Bowl to West Virginia on January 2nd.
For this season, Bradford has thrown for 4,464 yards and 48 touchdowns, breaking the school record Jason White set in 2003. He also leads the country in passing efficiency and has thrown just six interceptions.
