Oklahoma football: Two Sooners named Big 12 Players of Week

In a week in which three Big 12 teams absolutely laid eggs in their season openers, two Oklahoma football players took home conference honors.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Spencer Rattler was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week and backup kicker, Stephen Johnson, was awarded honors as Special Teams Player of the Week.

In just one half of work and in his first collegiate start, Rattler completed 14 of 17 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns in the Sooners’ 48-0 win over Missouri State. The Phoenix, Arizona, native set Oklahoma freshman records for passing efficiency rating (303.3), yards per completion (23.7) and yards per attempt (17.1). His pass efficiency rating was also a Big 12 freshman record and was the third highest in Oklahoma history regardless of class.

Rattler led the Sooners to a 31-0 advantage after just one quarter against Missouri State, including two touchdown passes of over 50 yards. Only he and Sam Bradford have thrown at least two 50-yard touchdown passes in their starting debut for OU.

Johnson was filling in for starting Sooner kicker Gabe Brkic, who was unavailable for the game. The redshirt senior kicked field goals of 42 and 22 yards on Saturday and was successful on all six of his extra-point attempts. He also kicked off nine times. He was responsible for 12 of OU’s 48 points in the game.

Rattler’s performance might have earned him Offensive Player of the Week honors in the conference except for a 424-yard, five-touchdown passing performance by Texas four-year quarterback starter Sam Ehlinger. Both are Longhorn school records for a single half.

Linebacker Krishon Merriweather of Texas Tech was name Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week. Merriweather, a junior college transfer in his first season with the Red Raiders, led all Big 12 players with 12 tackles in Texas Tech’s victory over Houston Baptist.