Kirk Herbstreit names Oklahoma's Danny Stutsman as 2024 Ultimate Herbie in annual Herbie Awards

Oklahoma’s Danny Stutsman is your 2024 Ultimate Herbie, the award given down by ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit for his all-around top dog in college football as part of his annual Herbie Awards. And the analyst said it was an award earned off the field as much as on it.

Specifically, Herbstreit cited Stutsman giving back some of his NIL earnings to teammates, among other reasons, for him to win the award. He also topped 100 tackles for the third-straight season in the middle of the Oklahoma defense.

“One of the things that blew me away and video eventually got out of Danny Stutsman, who took his NIL money, and he had, I think, about 13 or 14 of the preferred walk-ons come up to the from of the room in the team meeting room and he took his money from NIL and he distributed it evenly and gave it to the walk-ons for the work that they do and the prep that they do in getting the starters ready,” Herbstreit said on the awards show on ESPN on Friday night. “It was his way of kind of tipping his cap and showing his gratitude for all the work that they do, kind of in the shadows of these programs.”

On the field in 2024, Stutsman once again starred — despite a difficult season for the Sooners.

He finished with 109 tackles, including eight for loss, while playing in all 12 games for Oklahoma. He now has played 47 career games for Oklahoma, tallying 376 tackles in that span.

Stutsman also earned All-American and All-SEC honors for his efforts in 2024.

“For a stud like Danny Stutsman to take this money in this NIL era, his own money and instead of spending it, he gave it up to the walk-ons, is a real tribute, to me. … Kind of a no brainer for what the ultimate Herbie represents,” Herbstreit said. “Stud on the field. Showed it in a 6-6 year. But what he’s doing behind the scenes, love to see more and more of that throughout college football.”