Texas Longhorns

Big 12's preseason best: Ehlinger, Murray, Hurts top awards

Published Jul. 11, 2019 11:38 a.m. ET

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Texas junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger has been tabbed the Big 12 preseason offensive player of the year, with Oklahoma junior linebacker Kenneth Murray taking the defensive honor.

Jalen Hurts, the former Alabama quarterback who is at Oklahoma as a graduate transfer, was picked as the league's newcomer of the year in voting by media representatives who cover the league.

The awards were announced Tuesday in advance of the league's football media days next week at AT&T Stadium, the NFL home of the Dallas Cowboys where the Big 12 championship game is played.

Ehlinger is the Big 12's top returning passer after throwing for 235 yards a game with 25 touchdowns and five interceptions in 14 games last season. Murray had 155 tackles (11.1 per game) for the Sooners, with 4 ½ sacks and 12 ½ tackles for loss.

Hurts had 5,626 yards and 48 touchdowns passing and 1,976 yards and 23 touchdowns rushing the past three seasons at Alabama.