OU's Derrick Strait wins Jim Thorpe award

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) _ Oklahoma cornerback Derrick Strait won the Jim Thorpe Award on Thursday night as the nation's top defensive back. <br><br>Strait, who also won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy

Friday, December 12th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) _ Oklahoma cornerback Derrick Strait won the Jim Thorpe Award on Thursday night as the nation's top defensive back.

Strait, who also won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy this week as the top defensive college football player of the year, beat out Florida's Keiwan Ratliff and Miami's Sean Taylor for the Thorpe.

Strait led the Big 12 in fumbles recovered with four and was fourth in the conference in passes defended, with 12 breakups to go with his three interceptions.

He also had 69 tackles, including seven behind the line of scrimmage.

The announcement was made during the Home Depot college football awards show on ESPN.