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Dede Westbrook Wins Biletnikoff Award as Nation's Best Receiver
Oklahoma senior wide receiver Dede Westbrook is the winner of the 2016 Biletnikoff Award as college football’s best receiver.
Oct 8, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Dede Westbrook (11) catches a touchdown pass in the second quarter against the Texas Longhorns at Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
It has been a year of accolades and extraordinary on-the-field accomplishments for the Sooner wide receiver, who earlier this week was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
During the regular season, he hauled in 16 touchdown catches that averaged 48.8 yards per reception, the highest average in the last 21 years among FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) players.
Westbrook beat out Austin Carr of Northwestern and Zay Jones of East Carolina (where Oklahoma offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley held the same job before coming to OU) for the award. He becomes the first Oklahoma receiver to win the Biletnikoff Award.
The award was presented during the Home Depot College Football Awards Show, broadcast by ESPN from Atlanta on Thursday night.
Westbrook caught 74 passes for 1,465 yards during the regular season, 1,311 of which came in Oklahoma’s final nine games. He leads all receivers from Power Five conferences in touchdowns per game (1.31) and ranked third in receiving yards per game (123.1). He also was No. 1 in the nation in pass receptions of 20 yards or more (26), 50 yards or more (7), 60 yards or more (6) and 70 or more yards (3).
The Oklahoma wide receiver has played two seasons as a Sooner after playing his first two collegiate seasons at Blinn Community College in Texas. He was the Sooners third leading receiver a year ago, but in 2016 he has been on another planet in terms of his year-over-year performance.
Westbrook posted 100 or more receiving yards in eight of Oklahoma’s nine conference games and led the Big 12 in receiving yards per game (145.7) and points (11.6 per game).
He is the fourth Big 12 player to win the Biletnikoff Award. Previous Big 12 winners are Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech (2007 and 2008), Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State (2010 and 2011) and Corey Coleman of Baylor last season.
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