Striker Named National Defensive Player Of The Week

Oklahoma linebacker Eric Striker garnered National Defensive Player of the Week honors for his dominant performance against West Virginia.

Tuesday, October 6th 2015, 2:51 pm

By: News 9


One day after being named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, senior linebacker Eric Striker was named the AutoNation National Defensive Player of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America.

Striker, a 6-0, 222-pound senior from Seffner, Fla., was all over the field against West Virginia, tying career highs with 12 tackles and 3.0 tackles for loss, and registering two sacks and a forced fumble. The fourth-quarter fumble was returned by teammate Jordan Evans 41 yards for a touchdown to help the Sooners' post their second win over a ranked opponent this season.

Striker's two sacks increased his career total to 18.0, the most ever by an OU linebacker and 11th most overall in program history.

As part of AutoNation's history of charitable involvement, AutoNation will donate $1,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) in Striker's name. This charitable college football initiative culminates with the AutoNation Cure Bowl, a new postseason NCAA football game that kicks off bowl season at the Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Fla., and will be aired by CBS Sports Network. The aptly named AutoNation Cure Bowl also serves as a fund raiser for the BCRF, CharityWatch's only A+ rated breast cancer organization in the country.

The national award was one of two issued to Striker, a political science major, on Tuesday. He was also named the Lott IMPACT Player of the Week.

In recognition of Striker's performance, the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, sponsors of the Lott IMPACT Trophy, will make a $1,000 donation to OU's general scholarship fund.

Named after Pro Football Hall of Fame member, Ronnie Lott, The Lott IMPACT Trophy is awarded to college football's Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Founded in 2004 by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation, The Lott Trophy is the first and only college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player.

The Lott Trophy is given to the player who exhibits the same characteristics Lott embodied during his distinguished career: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity. Voters for the award include selected members of the national media, previous finalists, the board of directors of the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation and a distinguished group of former college football head coaches.

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