Jalen Hurts and CeeDee Lamb named Maxwell Award semifinalists
By Chip Rouse
Quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, the one-two punch that represent the best of college football’s No. 1 offense, are semifinalists for the 2019 Maxwell Award.
The two Oklahoma players are among 20 semifinalist candidates for the Maxwell Award, which every seasonrecognizes the best all-around player in the college game.
Oklahoma has boasted the top offense in college football in each of Lincoln Riley’s first two seasons as head coach and leads the pack again this season. The Sooners lead the country in scoring offense (49.3), total offense (598.4 yards per game), yards per pass attempt (12.82) and yards per rush (9.6).
The Oklahoma offense isn’t the only Sooner group getting national award attention. The revamped Sooner defense has landed two of its own on the semifinalist list for the Bednarik Award, presented annually to the country’s best defensive player. Senior linebacker Kenneth Murray and senior defensive lineman Neville Gallimore remain in the running for that national honor.
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As the Sooners’ starting quarterback, Hurts is the chief engineer of OU’s offensive attack this season. The Alabama transfer has picked right up where his two Heisman-winning predecessors left off, leading the nation in passing efficiency rating (224.3), yards per completion (18.6), total touchdowns (34) and points responsible for (25.8). And those are just the categories that Hurts is the nation’s best through eight games.
For a player whose passing skills have always been considered the least of his athletic abilities, Hurts’ passing stats and, most of all, his remarkable accuracy, as measured by his passing efficiency rating, has turned many heads this season. His passing efficicieny rating is the highest by any FBS player since 1996. He has posted an efficiency rating of at least 245.0 five times already this season. No other player has done so more than three times in a season.
Lamb, a midseason consensus All-American, is Hurts’ primary receiving target. The junior wide receiver ranks second among FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) players in yards per reception (22.7) and receiving touchdowns (11), seventh in receiving yards (816) and 11th in receiving yards per game (102.0).
On the defensive side, Murray leads the Sooners with 55 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss. Meanwhile, Gallimore has been credited with 5.5 tackles for loss and leads the team with 3.0 sacks in addition to being credited with three quarterback hurries.
Oklahoma is one of just two schools to place two semifinalists on both award lists. Ohio State is the other.
Three former Oklahoma players have won the Maxwell Award (Tommy McDonald in 1956, Jason White in 2003 and Baker Mayfield in 2017). All-American linebacker Teddy Lehman is the only Sooner to ever win the Bednarik Award.