FootballScoop is proud to announce that Bill Bedenbaugh is the 2017 FootballScoop Offensive Line Coach of the Year presented by AstroTurf as selected by prior winners.
Oklahoma's offense this season wasn't just the best in the country -- it was one of the best in college football history.
The Big 12 champions ripped off a national best 8.44 yards per play, which not only leads the country but outpaces the next-highest yards per play average in the history of the FootballScoop Coach of the Year awards program (Florida State in 2013) by 0.77 yards per play. Put another way, this year's OU offense is more than 10 percent better than the next best offense over the past nine years.
And none of it would be possible without Bill Bedenbaugh's offensive line.
The Sooners propelled Baker Mayfield to the most efficient season by a quarterback in college football history. The Heisman Trophy winner is on pace to shatter the FBS single-season record with 11.9 yards per attempt and also become the first player in FBS history to post a quarterback rating of 200 or greater.
And here's what Mayfield tweeted after Oklahoma was left off the finalist list for the Joe Moore Award, given to the nation's best offensive line.
Beyond Mayfield, Oklahoma ranked in the top 30 nationally with 215.92 rushing yards per game, 12th in FBS with 5.6 yards per carry and 22nd with 31 rushing touchdowns.
As a team, OU led the country with 583.3 yards per game and placed fourth with 44.9 points per game. The Sooners led the country in plays of at least 10, 20, 30 and 40 yards, and ranked second in plays of 50-plus yards. Oklahoma also placed among the top 20 in FBS with 4.46 tackles for loss allowed per game, and placed 17th by scoring touchdowns on 72.31 percent of red zone opportunities.
Left tackle Orlando Brown was a consensus First Team All-American and was named the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year for the second consecutive year. Center Erick Wren joined Brown on the All-Big 12 First Team, while right guard Dru Samia and left guard Ben Powers were Second Team All-Big 12 honorees and right tackle Bobby Evans was an Honorable Mention selection.
Bedenbaugh, who also serves as OU's co-offensive coordinator, was hired away from West Virginia before the 2013 season and has since helped Oklahoma produce a 1,700-yard rusher, a season with two 1,000-yard rushers, a Heisman Trophy finalist at wide receiver and, now, a Heisman winner at quarterback -- to go with three Big 12 championships and two College Football Playoff trips. An Iowa Wesleyan player under Mike Leach, Bedenbaugh was named the NCAA Division II Coordinator of the Year in 1999 at Ferris State and made stops along the Leach tree at Texas Tech under Leach himself, Arizona under Mike Stoops and West Virginia under Dana Holgorsen before his arrival in Norman.
Bedenbaugh was also a finalist for the Broyles Award.
The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by ProGrass are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Greg Austin [UCF], Glen Elarbee [Missouri], Herb Hand [Auburn], Harry Hiestand [Notre Dame], Garin Justice [Florida Atlantic], Brent Key [Alabama], Sam Pittman [Georgia] and Bedenbaugh) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year's winner.
Bedenbaugh will receive his award and be recognized at an event at the AFCA Convention in January.
Previous winners of the Offensive Line Coach of the Year award are Steve Greatwood (Oregon, 2008), Tony Wise (Pittsburgh, 2009), Bob Bostad (Wisconsin, 2010) Greg Studrawa (LSU, 2011), Ed Warinner (Ohio State, 2012 and 2014), Mike Bloomgren (Stanford, 2013), Tom Manning (Toledo, 2015) and Brian Callahan/Bill Kenney (Western Michigan, 2016).
Since 1965, the AstroTurf brand has been driven by forward thinking ingenuity. Today AstroTurf continuously improves its system design to deliver playing surfaces with the most realistic, sport-specific performance, longest lasting durability, and sound player protection. For more information please visit AstroTurf.com
Created in 1999, FootballScoop.com is the premier source for coaching job information and has long been the most widely viewed website by coaches, athletic directors, strength & conditioning coaches, operations and equipment staff across America. As the leading coaching job information venue, FootballScoop.com serves our viewers’ needs by providing first hand, timely & accurate information for our audience. FootballScoop.com is the premier provider of official job postings.