Happy Sunday, friends and fans!

Nine Oklahoma Sooners recently earned All-Big 12 honors from the Associated Press one week after winning the program’s sixth consecutive conference title. The AP named QB Spencer Rattler, C Creed Humphrey, DE Isaiah Thomas and K Gabe Brkic to its All-Big 12 First Team.

In addition to being named the AP’s First Team All Big-12 quarterback, Rattler was also selected as the league’s Newcomer of the Year (alongside West Virginia LB Tony Fields).

For the Second Team, five more OU players were honored in OT Adrian Ealy, TE/H-back Austin Stogner, WR Marvin Mims, RUSH LB Nik Bonitto and CB Tre Brown.

Now it’s time for some Sunday afternoon Hot Links! Oklahoma is playing much more balanced, complementary football these days, a Sooner signee has reached a Texas HS regional final, SGA comes up clutch for OKC and more!

OU Links

• Lincoln Riley has had the offensive part of the equation covered at Oklahoma for the majority of his six seasons in Norman, but now that Alex Grinch’s defense is settling in, that side of the ball is finally beginning to carry its own weight, writes SI Sooners’ John Hoover.
• 2021 four-star signee Billy Bowman is headed to the Texas Class 5A Division I Region II final after his Denton Ryan Raiders defeated Longview on Saturday, 27-9. His team is set to face Highland Park at Globe Life Field, with the game scheduled to kick off Friday at 3 p.m.
• Perry, Oklahoma native and two-time Olympic wrestler Danny Hodge has passed away at the age of 88. The former Sooner (1955-1957) went undefeated en route to a pristine 46-0 collegiate record before entering the world of pro wrestling. He was also well-known for his unique ability to crush an apple with his bare hand. The Dan Hodge Trophy, wrestling’s Heisman Trophy equivalent, is named after him.

• If Oklahoma manages to win its upcoming Cotton Bowl matchup with the Florida Gators, it will enter the 2021 offseason on an eight-game winning streak and an abundance of positive momentum. Considering how this season started, that possibility is remarkable in its own right, writes SI Sooners’ Ryan Chapman.
• Hoover also writes how Spencer Rattler is legitimately the leader of this OU team going forward. While it wasn’t always comfortable, the redshirt freshman has truly come into his own down the stretch, and is viewed by his teammates as their reliable commander.

Around the Sports World

• On Saturday night, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit this game-winning two-pointer to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder over the Charlotte Hornets. With the 109-107 road win, OKC starts out the 2020-21 NBA season at 1-0.

• Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James was named the 2020 AP Male Athlete of the Year. Before LBJ led L.A. to the NBA Finals Championship, he was one of the forefront voices in the Black Lives Matter movement over the summer.
• For the second week in a row, Dwayne Haskins Jr. is reportedly starting for the Washington Football Team, this time against the Carolina Panthers, despite his long-term future in D.C. being up in the air.
• Miami Hurricanes QB D’Eriq King has announced that he intends on returning to school in 2021. The former Houston Cougars dual-threat led ‘The U’ to an 8-2 overall record this season.
• Utah Utes RB Ty Jordan has passed away at the age of 19 after an apparent accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound. This tragic news comes days after he was named the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of Year.

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