Jim Thorpe Award

For the NFL most valuable player award, see Jim Thorpe Trophy.
Jim Thorpe Award
Awarded forThe top defensive back in college football
CountryUnited States
Presented byOklahoma Sports Hall of Fame
History
First award1986
Most recentTrey Taylor, Air Force (2023)
Websitehttp://www.oksportshof.org

The Jim Thorpe Award, named in memory of multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe, has been awarded to the top defensive back in college football since 1986. It is voted on by the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. In 2017, the award became sponsored by Paycom and was named the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award.[1]

Winners

Year Player School Ref
1986 Thomas Everett Baylor [2]
1987 (tie) Bennie Blades Miami (FL) [3]
Rickey Dixon Oklahoma
1988 Deion Sanders Florida State [4]
1989 Mark Carrier USC [5]
1990 Darryll Lewis Arizona [6]
1991 Terrell Buckley Florida State (2) [7]
1992 Deon Figures Colorado [8]
1993 Antonio Langham Alabama [9]
1994 Chris Hudson Colorado (2) [10]
1995 Greg Myers Colorado State [11]
1996 † Lawrence Wright Florida [12]
1997 Charles Woodson Michigan [13]
1998 Antoine Winfield Ohio State [14]
1999 Tyrone Carter Minnesota [15]
2000 Jamar Fletcher Wisconsin [16]
2001 Roy Williams Oklahoma (2) [17]
2002 Terence Newman Kansas State [18]
2003 Derrick Strait Oklahoma (3) [19]
2004 Carlos Rogers Auburn [9]
2005 Michael Huff Texas [20]
2006 Aaron Ross Texas (2) [21]
2007 Antoine Cason Arizona (2) [22]
2008 Malcolm Jenkins Ohio State (2) [23]
2009 Eric Berry Tennessee [9]
2010 Patrick Peterson LSU [24]
2011 Morris Claiborne LSU (2) [9]
2012 Johnthan Banks Mississippi State [9]
2013 Darqueze Dennard Michigan State [25]
2014 Gerod Holliman Louisville [26]
2015 Desmond King Iowa [27]
2016 Adoree' Jackson USC (2) [28]
2017 Minkah Fitzpatrick Alabama (2) [29]
2018 Deandre Baker Georgia [30]
2019 Grant Delpit LSU (3) [31]
2020 Trevon Moehrig TCU [32]
2021 Coby Bryant Cincinnati [33]
2022 Tre Tomlinson TCU (2) [34]
2023 Trey Taylor Air Force [35]

† In 1996, finalist Chris Canty of Kansas State University withdrew his name from consideration, which caused a re-vote.[36]

References

General
  • "Jim Thorpe Award Winners". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
Footnotes
  1. ^ "Awards - Paycom Jim Thorpe Award".
  2. ^ Werner, John (2015-10-04). "SWC legend, Baylor DB Thomas Everett won 1st-ever Jim Thorpe Award - WacoTrib.com: Baylor Bears Football". WacoTrib.com. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  3. ^ Miller, Susan (2015-09-24). "UM coach Randy Ableman among those to be inducted into Florida Sports Hall of Fame". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  4. ^ "Sanders wins Jim Thorpe Award". The Evening News. Associated Press. January 11, 1989. p. 2B. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  5. ^ "USC's Adoree' Jackson wins Jim Thorpe Award as nation's top DB". 2016-12-08.
  6. ^ Gimino, Anthony (2013-08-25). "No. 8: Defensive back Darryll Lewis, 1987-90". Archive.azcentral.com. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  7. ^ "Florida State tight end Nick O'Leary receives John Mackey Award". Jacksonville.com. 2014-12-10. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  8. ^ "Deon Figures, Bob Beattie among CU Buffs' new Hall of Famers". The Denver Post. 2014-06-19. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  9. ^ a b c d e "SEC Football by the Numbers: Awards season". AL.com. 2016-12-07. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  10. ^ "SPORTS PEOPLE - COLLEGE FOOTBALL - Two Awards for Penn State Quarterback". The New York Times. 1994-12-09. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  11. ^ Moss, Irv (2012-04-17). "Colorado Classics: One-time football star Greg Myers now an anesthesiologist and professor – The Denver Post". Denverpost.com. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  12. ^ "Wright Captures Thorpe - tribunedigital-orlandosentinel". Articles.orlandosentinel.com. 1996-12-13. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  13. ^ "Three Wolverines named finalists for college football awards". Freep.com. 2016-11-21. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  14. ^ "Inch for inch, Winfield the best cornerback". StarTribune.com. 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  15. ^ "Player's brother gets extra jail time for watching Super Bowl - NFL". ESPN. 2006-07-31. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  16. ^ "USA TODAY Latest news". Usatoday30.usatoday.com. 2000-12-30. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  17. ^ "OU Sports Extra - Sooners defensive back Zack Sanchez planted on Jim Thorpe Award watch list". Tulsaworld.com. 2014-07-12. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  18. ^ "Kansas State's Malone named semifinalist for Thorpe Award". Stjosephpost.com. 2011-10-31. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  19. ^ "OU's Derrick Strait wins Jim Thorpe award - NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |". NewsOn6.com. 2003-12-12. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  20. ^ Howe, Jeff (2016-12-08). "Former Thorpe Award winner Huff a member of Herman's Texas staff". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  21. ^ "Who should win the Jim Thorpe Award? - SportsNation". ESPN. 2010-12-03. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  22. ^ Gimino, Anthony (2013-03-15). "Ex-Arizona Wildcat star Antoine Cason to join the Arizona Cardinals - AG's Wildcat Report". Tucsoncitizen.com. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  23. ^ Fong, Marvin (2008-12-17). "OSU's Jenkins often overlooked, but he's a worthy recipient of Thorpe honor". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  24. ^ "LSU's Patrick Peterson wins Chuck Bednarik, Jim Thorpe awards". The Times-Picayune. December 9, 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  25. ^ "Michigan State's Darqueze Dennard wins Jim Thorpe award, named Walter Camp All-American". MLive.com. 2013-12-12. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  26. ^ "Louisville's Gerod Holliman wins Jim Thorpe Award". USA Today. Associated Press. 2014-12-11. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  27. ^ "Iowa's Desmond King wins Jim Thorpe Award". USA Today. Associated Press. 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  28. ^ "USC's Adoree' Jackson wins 2016 Thorpe Award | The Draft Wire". USA Today. 2016-12-09. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  29. ^ "Alabama's Fitzpatrick wins 2nd ever Thorpe Award for Alabama | Bamaonline". bamaonline.com. Retrieved 2017-12-07.
  30. ^ "Georgia's Deandre Baker Wins 2018 Jim Thorpe Award as College Football's Best DB". Bleacher Report.
  31. ^ Pickman, Ben (December 12, 2019). "College Football Awards: Full List of Winners, Results". si.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  32. ^ Bonagura, Kevin (January 8, 2021). "Bama players take home several major awards". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  33. ^ "Cincinnati Bearcats defensive back Coby Bryant makes history by winning Jim Thorpe Award". Cincinnati.com. December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  34. ^ "TCU's Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson Named 2022 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award Winner" (Press release). 9 December 2022.
  35. ^ "Trey Taylor wins 2023 Paycom Jim Thorpe Award". themw.com. Mountain West Conference. December 8, 2023. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
  36. ^ "Canty apologizes, withdraws from awards consideration". Apnewsarchive.com. 1996-12-10. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved 2016-12-13.