Sooners place 3 players on Preseason SEC Football Team
NORMAN — University of Oklahoma senior defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. and senior linebacker Danny Stutsman were selected to the 2024 Preseason Media Days All-Southeastern Conference First Team and red-shirt junior wide receiver Deion Burks was picked for the third team, the SEC office announced last Friday. Selections were made in a poll of media covering SEC Football Media Days.
NORMAN — University of Oklahoma senior defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. and senior linebacker Danny Stutsman were selected to the 2024 Preseason Media Days All-Southeastern Conference First Team and red-shirt junior wide receiver Deion Burks was picked for the third team, the SEC office announced last Friday. Selections were made in a poll of media covering SEC Football Media Days.
The Sooners are preparing for their first season as a member of the Southeastern Conference and officially joined the league July 1.
Bowman, who was a first-team All-Big 12 selection last season, ranked third nationally with six interceptions (one off the lead) and led the country with his 238 interception return yards and three interceptions returned for touchdown in 2023. He set school records for both interception yardage and pick-6s, and also earned first-team All-America recognition from CBS Sports/247Sports. The Denton, Texas, product started all 13 games last season, totaling 63 tackles, three tackles for loss and four pass break-ups. In 35 career games (29 starts), he has compiled 145 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, nine INTs, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and 11 pass break-ups.
Stutsman was also a first-team All-Big 12 selection last season and has led the Sooners in tackles each of the last two years. He registered 104 tackles, 16 tackles for loss (TFLs), three quarterback sacks, an interception and two forced fumbles in 2023, earning second-team All-America honors from the Walter Camp Foundation and thirdteam accolades from The Associated Press. The Windermere, Fla., product has played in 35 career games and made 25 starts, compiling 267 tackles, 28 TFLs, seven sacks, three INTs four forced fumbles and eight pass breakups. The 28 tackles for loss are most among current Sooners.
Burks, who transferred to OU from Purdue prior to the spring semester, started all 12 games for the Boilermakers last season and led the team with 629 yards and seven touchdowns on 47 receptions, and made at least four catches in eight games. The Inkster, Mich., product played in 30 games and made 13 starts over his three years at Purdue, racking up 804 yards and seven touchdowns on 63 receptions.
The Sooners were picked to finish eighth in the SEC Preseason Media Poll with 2,022 points. Georgia (3,330 points), Texas (3,041 points), Alabama (2,891 points), Mississippi (2,783 points), Louisiana State University (2,322 points), Missouri (2,240 points) and Tennessee (2,168 points) comprised the top seven teams in the poll. Texas A&M (1,684 points), Auburn (1,382 points), Kentucky (1,371 points), Florida (1,146 points), South Carolina (923 points), Arkansas (749 points), Mississippi State (623 points) and Vanderbilt (293 points) rounded out the poll.
OU will play six of the top seven teams in the SEC Preseason Media Poll in 2024, seven of the top 10 and eight of the top 13.
OU, which is celebrating the 100th season of Owen Field, opens the 2024 campaign at 6 p.m. Aug. 30, against Temple at home.
The Sooners will play their first-ever SEC game on Sept. 21 against former OU quarterback Josh Heupel’s Tennessee Volunteers in Norman.
