Skip to main content
Oklahoma
Join Now

Eli Bowen, Taylor Wein, Tate Sandell earn SEC honors after OU beats Alabama

headshotby: George Stoia5 hours agoGeorgeStoia
Eli Bowen5
OU cornerback Eli Bowen. (Gary Cosby - Imagn Images)

OU had three players earn SEC honors after its upset win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

Cornerback Eli Bowen was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week after his 87-yard pick-six. Defensive end Taylor Wein was named SEC Defensive Line Player of the Week after blocking a field goal and having a strip sack. And kicker Tate Sandell was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week after going 3-for-3 on his field goals, including a 51-yarder.

For Bowen, who missed several games to start the year due to injury, the interception was a long time coming. It was the second year in a row that he had an interception against the Crimson Tide.

“Man, it was a blessing,” Bowen said after the game. “It was just a blessing to be honest. I’ve got to give props to RJ for banging the receiver, not letting him be able to catch the ball. Letting me catch it. I mean, from there it was just my instincts taking over. Making plays.”

For Wein, he has arguably been the best player on the OU defense this season. With R Mason Thomas unable to play due to injury, Wein stepped up.

“He was fantastic. He’s exactly who he has been all year,” coach Brent Venables said. “One of our best defensive players. He’s a guy that’s a lot of fun to be around. He has an innocence to him. He loves for you to push him. He’s willing to have the truthful conversations that really good players who are going to improve and develop need to be willing to have.

“He was really disruptive again. Made some huge plays tonight that were real critical, pivotal plays in the game. Really proud of him.”

And for Sandell, it was just another day at the office. He has now made 21 of 22 field goals, including going 7-of-7 from 50-plus. He has become a real weapon for OU.

“It’s great and all that, but it’s next game mentality,” Sandell said. “We have a really good Mizzou team rolling into Norman, and they’re going to get our best, and we’re going to get their best, so it’s something that we’re not going to be hungover on. It was great, we’re enjoying it, we’re going to enjoy it tonight, but it’s back to the drawing board tomorrow.”

You may also like