Hello again, friends and fans! The University of Oklahoma went into the weekend with five Heisman Trophy winners and came out on the other side with six! Once again, congratulations to Baker Mayfield on an unprecedented run from walk-on to Heisman. Check out these sweet pics from the black tie Heisman dinner gala Sunday night. Mayfield is looking good!

Now we all know Baker is used to breaking records, whether those records are somebody else’s or his own. When he heard about Tim Tebow’s record time for signing Heisman football autographs, you know he had to take it as a challenge. Sure enough, he owns this record now, too.

For today’s edition of Hot Links, check out the AP All-America Team, watch how Baker Mayfield’s Heisman portrait came to life, learn how the newest Heisman winner celebrated, find out which Sooner freshman made ESPN’s Freshman All-America Team and more!

And FYI, for those of you who plan on or want to attend the Rose Bowl, Southwest Airlines has added extra flights to make it possible for more folks to fly out to the Rose Bowl. Go support the Oklahoma Sooners in Pasadena!

OU Links

• Baker Mayfield, Orlando Brown and Mark Andrews were made the AP All-America First Team on Monday, and OU was the only school in the country with as many as three first-team selections this season. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo was voted to the Second Team.
• Baker Mayfield’s custom portrait as a Heisman winner is here. Take a closer look at how it was created. This also just made me even more excited about Mayfield’s eventual statue at Heisman Park.

• So how did Mayfield celebrate right after winning the Heisman Trophy? He wanted to spend more time with his family, and that’s exactly what he did.
• If you want to read the full transcript of Baker’s speech, you can check it out here. For me it’s always neat to see a speech in writing. It adds another dimension to what was said.
• Baker was at peace while he went unnoticed in NYC. All the fanfare he gets in Norman is great, but eventually it can take its toll. Plus, Mayfield and his father, James, spoke about where they’ll display all the trophies the QB has hauled in this year.
• OU’s Heisman Park is an iconic place for a football program that is rich with tradition. The process of creating the larger-than-life statues takes time and patience so that both the details and the essence of each player is on full display. Now that Mayfield has won the Heisman, he has his own thoughts about what he would want included in his statue.
• Some wondered where past winners like Jason White and Steve Owens were during the ceremony on Saturday. Both had family obligations that kept them home.
• The Big 12 is the only Power 5 conference without a win in the College Football Playoff. Further, the Big 12 and the Pac 12 are the only conferences without a CFP championship. The Sooners can change all of that with a couple wins next month.
• WR CeeDee Lamb made ESPN’s Freshman All-America Team. Congratulations, CeeDee!

• Kirk Herbstreit apologized to Rashaan Gaulden, a Tennessee player, after that player pointed out Herbstreit’s double standard between Gaulden and Mayfield. Herbstreit took full ownership, so I can respect that.
• Former Biletnikoff winner and Heisman finalist Dede Westbrook scored his first career touchdown yesterday. Congratulations, Dede!

• OU freshman phenom Trae Young has been named Player of the Week by Andy Katz after a wild week across college hoops. Not only is Young in the running for freshman honors, he’s now being looked at in the national POY race.

National Links

• So who are the early candidates primed for making a Heisman run in 2018? Check out these eight players, plus an honorable mention that folks around Norman may be familiar with.
• Former Cal head coach Sonny Dykes is reportedly heading to SMU to succeed Chad Morris. Perhaps Dykes can keep the offense running at a high rate with his offensive background. If that’s the case, we could potentially hear Dykes’ name in the coming seasons for bigger coaching gigs. Cal was just wayyy too far from being a cultural fit for Dykes.
• C’mon, Bazemore. Yeah, this is Shaqtin’ A Fool-worthy.

• Texas A&M defensive tackle Zaycoven Henderson has been arrested on felony assault charges. Henderson was a starter, but after this arrest, I can only hope the young man gets the help he needs.
• Philadelphia Eagles’ QB Carson Wentz is feared to have suffered a torn ACL. Wentz has led the Eagles to an 11-2 record, tied with Pittsburgh for the best in the NFL.

Stick to Sports!

• I would feel too guilty to keep my mouth shut. I just feel so bad for everybody, especially that woman.

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