Happy Monday, friends and fans!

If you watched football like the rest of the nation (and much of the world) on Sunday night, then you not only saw an amazing game, you witnessed former Oklahoma Sooners RB Damien Williams make a strong case for Super Bowl MVP. In the end he didn’t get to claim that title, but I’m sure he’s fine with the trade-off because his Kansas City Chiefs are Super Bowl LIV champs!

Just how big of a night did Williams have? He rushed for a total of 104 yards on 17 carries, including this beautiful, game sealing 38-yard scamper into the end zone seen below. He also hauled in four passes from out of the backfield for 29 yards and yet another touchdown that gave his team the go-ahead score.

Williams always had a knack for making big plays when he was at OU, and he clearly hasn’t lost that ability as evidenced by his monster performance on the biggest stage the game has to offer.

In the process, Williams became the first player in Super Bowl history to rush for 100 yards and score both a rushing TD and a receiving TD in the same game.

After the win, Williams sat down with the NFL Network crew to discuss the significance of this victory for his family, his journey from a UDFA to a starter in the Super Bowl, and his friendship with the San Francisco 49ers’ RB Raheem Mostert.

The road Damien Williams had to take to reach this point in his career deserves recognition, and should serve as a shining example of never giving up on your dreams and staying ready when your number is called. The best part of this for the Chiefs is that he’s only 27 years old, so if they play their cards right, he could continue to produce games like this for seasons to come.

Now onto this week’s Monday edition of Hot Links! Another grad transfer is headed to Norman, Kyler Murray is named OROY, and more!

OU Links

• I’m not going to lie, I’m actually quite a bit salty about Williams not being named Super Bowl MVP. My man was robbed, and the voters are obviously cowards. I mean, how do you not give it to this guy? The first ever to rush for 100-plus while scoring on the ground and through the air? Ain’t that some shrimp. Okay, I’m done here.

• Williams wasn’t the only Sooner to find his way into the box score at the Super Bowl. Former OU QB/TE Blake Bell caught this pass for nine yards in the second quarter. His own journey has also been quite remarkable, and winning a ring has to feel that much sweeter knowing it came against the team he began his NFL career with.

• Check out former Sooner and Kansas City long snapper James Winchester posing with his wife and son and the legendary Lombardi Trophy. He dedicated this win to his father, Mike (a former OU punter), who was senselessly shot and killed in 2016 while working at Will Rogers Airport in OKC.

• Amid all the Super Bowl festivities on Sunday, Marshall grad transfer WR Obi Obialo announced his plans to play his final season of college ball at Oklahoma. The 6’3”, 214 pound pass-catcher missed the first nine games of the Thundering Herd’s 2019 season, but returned for the final four to preserve a year of eligibility while also showcasing his abilities. Welcome to Sooner Nation, Obi!

• On Saturday, Kyler Murray was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year for an impressive season with the Arizona Cardinals. Stats-wise, K1 did things almost no other first-year QB has ever done. Well deserved, my guy.

• The Norman Transcript’s Joe Buettner wrote about Josh Norman, the former OU WR/TE that helped the Sooners win the BCS National Championship for the 2000 season. Now he’s the head coach at Southmoore HS and living in the same area he helped restore after the severe tornado outbreak in 2013.
• The OU women’s basketball team rallied from a 22-point deficit to down Kansas on the road in OT. With the win, Sherri Coale joined the 500-win club for DI women’s basketball coaches. Boomer!

Around the Sports World

• The SB commercials were more a less a let down this year, save for a few gems like the ‘Take it to the House, Kid’ to open the game. This one right here got everybody’s attention though, and as it turned out, it was just Tom Brady teaming up with Hulu for an epic troll job. Well done, GOAT, well done.

• When Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City lined up in the victory formation at the end of Super Bowl LIV, the QB’s subsequent kneel-downs resulted in a total loss of 15 yards, which was insignificant to most fans watching, but extremely costly to many prop bettors around the country.
• Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving recently made his return to the court after missing the last couple months for an injury, but over the weekend he suffered a scary looking fall that fortunately is being reported as less serious than originally thought.
• Vegas has released its odds for all 32 NFL teams winning Super Bowl LV in 2021. No surprise that both the Chiefs and Niners are tied with the best odds, but they’re not alone at the top.
• I couldn’t imagine actually paying for a ticket to the Super Bowl (or even accepting one as a gift) only to fall asleep almost as soon as it starts. Maybe the gentleman just had a late night in Miami the night before. I hear that’ll do the trick.

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