College Football Awards 2014: Results, Winners and Twitter Reaction
On Saturday, Marcus Mariota is widely expected to become the first Heisman Trophy winner in Oregon Ducks history. Thursday night's College Football Awards Show proved to be a prelude to the "Season of Mariota."
The junior quarterback walked away from the ceremony, broadcast on ESPN from the Walt Disney World Resort, with the Maxwell Award for most outstanding player, the Walter Camp Award for national player of the year and the Davey O'Brien Award for best college quarterback.
Mariota bested Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon and Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott for the Maxwell and Prescott and TCU's Trevone Boykin for the Davey O'Brien.
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Mariota's trophies come in addition to the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm he claimed on Monday and should serve as a prelude to Saturday's Heisman presentation. Mariota finished the 2014 regular season with one of the most efficient campaigns in college football history. He threw for 3,783 yards and 38 touchdowns against two interceptions, adding 669 yards and 14 scores on the ground.
| Maxwell Award (Player of the Year) | Marcus Mariota (Oregon) |
| Walter Camp Award (Player of the Year) | Marcus Mariota (Oregon) |
| Chuck Bednarik Award (Defensive Player of the Year) | Scooby Wright (Arizona) |
| Davey O'Brien Award (Best Quarterback) | Marcus Mariota (Oregon) |
| Doak Walker Award (Best Running Back) | Melvin Gordon (Wisconsin) |
| Biletnikoff Award (Best Receiver) | Amari Cooper (Alabama) |
| Lou Groza Award (Best Kicker) | Brad Craddock (Maryland) |
| Ray Guy Award (Best Punter) | Tom Hackett (Utah) |
| Outland Trophy (Best Interior Lineman) | Brandon Scherff (Iowa) |
| Jim Thorpe Award (Best Defensive Back) | Gerod Holliman (Louisville) |
| Coach of the Year | Gary Patterson (TCU) |
Over the past three seasons, Mariota has totaled 131 touchdowns and 23 turnovers. Oregon has gone a combined 35-4 in that timespan, including a 12-1 mark in 2014 that earned the Ducks the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff.
”When he was a freshman, I remarked, 'This kid’s going to win the Heisman,'" Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly, who recruited Mariota to Oregon, told Phil Sheridan of ESPN.com. “He’s a special young man. He’s a hell of a football player and he deserves it. He’s a special player. He’s got a gift for playing football. He can throw the ball, he can run. He’s the most talented kid that I coached in college."
Mariota is the first player in Oregon history to win either the Maxwell or Davey O'Brien Award.
While they're unlikely to stop Mariota's reign Saturday, his Heisman competitors didn't walk away empty-handed. Gordon became the second Wisconsin running back in the last three years to take home the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation's top rusher. Montee Ball won the award in 2012. Wisconsin's three trophies match the all-time record that was previously held by Texas.
Gordon, who this week announced he'd be entering the 2015 NFL draft on The Dan Patrick Show (h/t ESPN), rushed for a nation-high 2,336 yards and 26 touchdowns. His yardage total is the fourth-highest in FBS history, and Gordon set a single-game record with 408 yards in a game against Nebraska. (Samaje Perine of Oklahoma broke the record a week later.)
Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah and Indiana's Tevin Coleman were also nominated for the Doak Walker Award. Coleman, perhaps the nation's most underrated player, was the only other 2,000-yard rusher this season. Like Gordon in the Heisman race, Coleman's historic season has been overshadowed by a more historic one from a high-profile player.
As for Amari Cooper's Biletnikoff Award win, you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone who feels he was undeserving. The Alabama star led the nation in receptions (115), yards (1,656) and finished behind only co-finalist Rashard Higgins in touchdown receptions (14).
At times this season, Cooper was tasked with being a one-man offense for the Tide, and he came up huge when the team needed him most. Cooper made a combined 25 receptions in playoff-clinching victories over Auburn and Missouri to close the regular season and set an SEC Championship Game record for grabs (12).
"It feels great," Cooper said, per Matt Murschel of the Orlando Sentinel. "I feel real honored and I feel real blessed."
Elsewhere on the offensive side, Iowa tackle Brandon Scherff took home the Outland Trophy for outstanding interior lineman. The Big Ten Lineman of the Year defeated Texas defensive tackle Malcom Brown and Auburn center Reese Dismukes.
Defensively, the Pac-12's big night continued when Arizona's Scooby Wright earned the Chuck Bednarik Award for the nation's top defensive player. Wright accrued 153 total tackles (89 solo) with 14 sacks and six forced fumbles, earning nearly every national plaudit along the way. He became the first sophomore in Pac-12 history to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award and was named Lombardi Award winner earlier this week.
"Coming out of high school I didn't really have too many colleges knocking on my door—actually nobody really wanted me except Arizona," Wright, a lightly touted recruit, told The Associated Press (via NCAA.com). "So I always have that little chip on my shoulder. You always remember those people who didn't think you were good enough. It still motivates me to this day."
Wright is Arizona's first Bednarik winner and the second in history to attend a Pac-12 school.
Largely absent from Thursday night's proceedings, the ACC got a boost when Louisville's Gerod Holliman was honored with the Jim Thorpe Award. Holliman bested Alabama safety Landon Collins and Oregon cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu to be named the top defensive back in the country.
The redshirt sophomore matched an NCAA record with 14 interceptions and made 37 tackles. NFL.com's Bucky Brooks has likened Holliman to a young Ed Reed.
"It is amazing," Louisville coach Bobby Petrino told reporters. "He's had a great year for us. There's always other people that play into it. That record is his, but every one of those defensive linemen, linebackers and other guys with the tight coverage have a little piece of it, too."
While many expected Florida State kicker Roberto Aguayo to give the ACC its second award as the Lou Groza Award winner, Maryland's Brad Craddock won in a bit of a surprise. Craddock made 18 of 19 field goals and all 41 of his extra points.
Utah's Tom Hackett capped off the special teams trophies by winning the Ray Guy Award for the nation's best punter. TCU coach Gary Patterson, who led the Horned Frogs to a 11-1 regular season, was named the Home Depot Coach of the Year.
Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.
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