TYLER, Texas — Baker Mayfield, Lake Travis High School’s 6-foot phenom, is once again the center of the collegiate football universe.
The Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce and SPORTyler named the Cavalier and Oklahoma Sooner standout quarterback the recipient of the 2017 Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award on Wednesday.
He was one of five former Lone Star State athletes to earn finalist berths for the award. It was a star-studded list that included former Wichita Falls Rider and current Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett, former McKinney North and current USC running back Ronald Jones II, former Stephenville and current Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham and former Stamford and current Oklahoma State wide receiver James Washington.
Those five players represented four of the five major college football conferences.
Earl Campbell enters last year’s award ceremony in Tyler. Photo Courtesy Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce
“I’m honored to present the award to Baker Mayfield.” Earl Campbell said during the event. “All of these players had an amazing season. They all deserved their place as a finalist.”
Mayfield completed 285 of his 404 passes for a career-high 4,627 yards and 43 touchdowns and only six interceptions and rushed for 311 yards and another five scores. He also didn’t lose a fumble all season.
The unanimous first team All-American this season led the nation in completion percentage (.705) and passing efficiency rating (198.9), breaking his own FBS record of 196.4. He threw a TD pass in a Big 12-record 40 consecutive games — every contest of his Oklahoma career. It’s the third-longest streak in FBS history.
Mayfield, who was travelingfor the Walter Camp Award presentation, won the Heisman Trophy, Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, the Maxwell Award, the Davey O’Brien Award. He also earned his place as a finalist for the Manning Award before Skyping in to Tyler to accept his recent honor.
The voting committee, co-chaired by Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman and Phil Hicks of the Tyler Morning Telegraph, included 40 broadcasters, commentators, and journalists throughout the country. It was also comprised of fans and previous winners: Midlothian High School’s Bryce Petty (2013), West Mesquite High School’s Trevone Boykin (2014), John Tyler High School’s Greg Ward, Jr. (2015), and Texas City High School’s D’Onta Foreman (2016).
Each of those five past winners reached the NFL and three have been starters.
—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-
Marcus Matthews-Marion is the managing editor of TexasHSFootball, covering prep football throughout the Lone Star State. Follow him on Twitter, @TheMJMatthews, and read more of his content here.
Brought to you by:
