Tulsa players racking up preseason accolades
Several Tulsa football players have landed on the annual preseason award watch lists and all-conference selections that routinely roll out this time of year. The Golden Hurricane have selections from both sides of the ball and special teams, while two players even made a preseason All-America team.
TU running backs Shamari Brooks and Corey Taylor II were named to the Doak Walker Award Preseason Watch List for the second consecutive season. The award is presented annually to the nation’s top college running back.
The duo has combined for 4,190 rushing yards and 45 touchdowns in their careers. Brooks ran for a team-high 1,046 yards and six touchdowns last season, earning second-team all conference honors. Taylor added 461 yards and six touchdowns last year, after turning in 846 yards and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2018.
Hurricane receiver Keylon Stokes was recently named to the Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List, an honor that recognizes college football’s most outstanding FBS receiver regardless of position.
Stokes led TU last season with 1,040 yards and six touchdowns on 62 catches for a 16.9 average per reception. The senior-to-be also had a team-high 369 kickoff return yards in 2019, averaging 19.4 yards per return.
On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Zaven Collins was named to the watch list for the Chuck Bednarik Award, presented annually to the outstanding defensive player in college football. Collins is one of five players from the American Athletic Conference named to this season's Bednarik preseason watch list.
Collins was a second-team AAC selection as a sophomore last year after totaling 97 tackles, eight tackles for loss, two sacks and two pass deflections. In just two seasons, he has tallied 182 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, six pass breakups and two fumble recoveries.
Three of the four players mentioned above landed on Athlon Sports' preseason American Athletic All-Conference team. Brooks and Collins were first team selections, and Stokes landed on the second team.
Athlon also placed Tulsa OL Chris Paul on the third team offense. Fourth team selections were Hurricane center Gerard Wheeler and defensive lineman Jaxon Player.
TU also landed two players on Phil Steele’s Preseason All-America Fourth Team -- linebacker Zaven Collins and deep-snapper Adam Higuera.
Higuera, from Gilbert, Arizona, will be a senior and has handled deep-snapping duties in all of his 36 career games. He was one of the top long-snappers in the country when he signed with TU in the class of 2017. In his very first game as a true freshman, Higuera scored the Hurricane's first touchdown of the season when he recovered a fumbled punt in the end zone against Oklahoma State.