Oregon’s Marcus Mariota wins pair of big awards

Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota picked up his first national player-of-the-year award on Thursday when he named the winner of the Walter Camp Football Foundation Player of the Year.

Mariota also won the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s best quarterback and is expected to win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday.

Mariota was among a number of players who received awards during the college football awards show televised on Thursday.

The five finalists for the Walter Camp Award were Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper, Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright, TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin and Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon.

Mariota, a junior, completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 3,783 yards, 38 touchdowns and only two interceptions. He leads the nation in passer rating.

Mariota also ran the ball 117 times for 669 yards and 14 more touchdowns for the Ducks, who finished No. 2 in the final College Football Playoff rankings.

Boykin and Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott were the other finalists for the O’Brien Award that Mariota won.

—-Cooper won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top wide receiver, putting up some monster numbers to become the first Alabama player to win that award.

He led the nation in receptions with 115 and had 1,656 receiving yards. He beat out the two other finalists, West Virginia’s Kevin White and Colorado State’s Rashard Higgins.

—-Iowa’s Brandon Scherff won the Outland Trophy as the nation’s top interior lineman.

Scherff became the fourth Iowa player to win the Outland Trophy, finishing ahead of two other finalists, Auburn center Reese Dismukes and Texas defensive tackle Malcom Brown.

Scherff is the first offensive tackle in five years to win the award.

Other awards winners included Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright III who won the Chuck Bedarnik Trophy, given to the nation’s best defensive player. Gerod Golliman of Louisville took home the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the nation’s top defensive back.

Maryland’s Brad Craddock was named the Ray Guy Award winner, which is awarded to the nation’s best place-kicker. Sterling Shepard and Bob Stoops of Oklahoma were given the Sports Spirit Award and TCU’s Gary Patterson was named Coach of the Year.