The 2023 season finished on a strong note for the Oklahoma Sooners. After losing back-to-back games to Kansas and Oklahoma State, OU closed with three-straight wins over West Virginia, BYU, and TCU.
Against West Virginia and TCU, the Sooners scored 59 and 69 points.
It didn’t end with a Big 12 title game appearance, but Oklahoma showed that the 2022 season was a blip on the timeline of OU Football.
In their bounce-back season, several Sooners had career years and earned All-Big 12 honors with their performances.
Here’s a look at the Sooners who make the All-Big 12 first and second teams. The voting was done by the coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own players.
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Dillon Gabriel had a career year for the Oklahoma Sooners, leading OU to the No. 3 scoring offense in 2023. The veteran quarterback completed 69% of his passes for 3,660 yards, 30 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions. He also ran for 12 touchdowns and moved into seventh all-time in career passing yards.
Gabriel upped his game over the offseason to help the Sooners improve on third down and in the red zone. He forever immortalized himself with a career-defining game-winning drive against the Texas Longhorns.
Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
Like Gabriel, Drake Stoops had a career year for the Sooners. He led the Big 12 in receptions, yards, and touchdowns in 2023 and came on strong down the stretch. Over the last four games, Stoops recorded three 100-yard games.
On the year, Stoops had 78 receptions for 880 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’ll be hard to replace as he came through clutch for Oklahoma in the passing game.
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The guy at the forefront of Oklahoma’s defensive improvement is linebacker Danny Stutsman. He led the way for the Sooners who improved their physicality and playmaking ability. Stutsman finished the year with 99 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss, three sacks, an interception returned for a touchdown, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.
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Billy Bowman is another Sooner that had a career year. Bowman recorded six interceptions, three of which he returned for a touchdown. His 100-yard pick-six helped the Sooners overcome a tight ball game against the BYU Cougars. His pick-six against TCU allowed the Sooners to pull away in a game that was just a 14-point advantage in the second half.
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Oklahoma’s lone preseason All-Big 12 selection, Ethan Downs remained a steady force for the Sooners defensive line all season long. He led the team with 4.5 sacks and recorded 28 total tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss.
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Andrew Raym earned his second-consecutive All-Big 12 second-team selection. He was the anchor for an Oklahoma offensive line that helped lead the Sooners to top-10 finishes in scoring and total yards.
Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman
The Oklahoma Sooners had a number of players earn honorable mention honors (at least one vote).
- Dillon Gabriel – Offensive Player of the Year
- Billy Bowman – Defensive Player of the Year
- Ethan Downs – Defensive Lineman of the Year
- Andrew Raym – Offensive Lineman of the Year
- Nic Anderson – Offensive Freshman of the Year; Wide Receiver
- Kip Lewis – Defensive freshman of the year; linebacker,
- Jalil Farooq – Wide Receiver; Kick Returner/Punt returner
- Rondell Bothroyd – Defensive Line
- Isaiah Coe – Defensive Line
- Kendel Dolby – Defensive back
- Woodi Washington – Defensive back
- Gentry Williams – Defensive back
- Tyler Guyton – Offensive Line
- McKade Mettauer – Offensive Line
- Walter Rouse – Offensive Line
- Gavin Sawchuk – Running Back
- Tawee Walker – Running Back
- Gavin Freeman – kick returner/punt returner