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The University of Oklahoma, said Sam Bradford, is where he dreamed of being his whole life, where he envisioned becoming the next great Sooner. A university bereft of NFL stardom at his position, save for Troy Aikman—the Henryetta, OK native transferred following a broken ankle in his fourth game quarterbacking the Sooners—still one where, with five Heisman winners and 148 All-Americans, the title of Greatest Anything remains virtually impossible to attain.
But by the time he was Sammy-in-sling, Slingin’ Sammy made a Heisman-sized case, becoming perhaps the most transcendent student-athlete the state has ever seen. Now Bradford, just shy of graduating, and having taken his final snap in that long-coveted crimson jersey, can be seen on Saturdays pacing the sideline in street clothes, his right AC joint no longer shouldering the heavy bookbag of national title expectations. But to his generation of Sooner nation, Bradford will now epitomize what is indeed great about Oklahoma football.
Bradford, like the rest of us, dreamed of being a Sooner his whole life.
Following his redshirt year, Bradford would carry the torch in its new era of elite pocket passers ushered in by Jason White and Josh Heupel, two legends in their own right. And on his way to breaking virtually every passing record on the books, the wishbone-style offense, it appeared, would inevitably become but a distant memory.
And it may have been, until the 2008 Heisman Trophy presentation, where Bradford was sporting the most impressive afro this side of Thomas Lott and Billy Sims circa 1978. Surely Bradford had heard of the famous backfield from its 6-foot-3 offensive tackle with which he just so happened to share a roof. Kent Bradford, like any responsible father, bred his son on Sooner football, assuredly passing down epic tales of his team’s national championship victory in 1975 and playing under Barry Switzer and alongside Jimbo Elrod, the Selmon brothers and “Little” Joe Washington.
Decades later, every young man in the state wants to be No. 14, one of the greatest Sooners in a long line of Sooner greats.
Who could forget this night at Owen Field?
For starters, there is Billy Vessels, who led OU to its first national championship in 1950 and won its first Heisman Trophy in 1952. ''He was the first player that I had ever been around who was the fastest player on the field and also the toughest,'' Bud Wilkinson once said.
They say Eddie Crowder was masterful, his ball-fakes so deceiving that officials would often blow the play dead on account of being duped by the legendary signal-caller. The Muskogee native and All-American quarterbacked the Sooners to that 1950 national title and went 26-4-1 as a starter.
They say that Jimmy Harris and Tommy McDonald were untouchable. During their varsity years at OU, the Sooners went 31-0 and won two national titles. “We played Texas and Notre Dame and we pretty much tore everybody up,” Harris described to ESPN Classic.
They say George Cumby was a machine. The three-time All-American was also named Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year twice and was described by Switzer as, “the only person who could go one-on-one with Earl Campbell and knock him backwards.”
They say Steve Owens was the greatest teammate a player could have. The 1969 Heisman winner and Miami, OK native scored 55 touchdowns at OU and, to this day, might be the greatest ambassador the university has ever had.
There’s the stable of backs (Pruitt, Gaddis, Parker, Griffin, Peterson) and the stable of Jacks (Mitchell, Mildren, Jacobs). There’s Bobby Warmack and Kurt Burris. Jamelle Holieway and JC Watts. Rod Shoate and The Boz. Keith Jackson and Jermaine Gresham. Throw in Wayman Tisdale and Blake Griffin. Countless greats from Jerry Tubbs and Gerald McCoy, and Bennie Owen to Bob Stoops.
Now, there’s Bradford.
Bradford is a once in a lifetime Sooner.
They’ll say that in two seasons he set fifteen school records. That he brought home two conference championships and ran the most prolific offense in the history of college football.
They’ll say he was a local basketball star and scratch golfer. That he was a proud Cherokee and Christian. That he rang the opening bell on Wall Street and kept a 3.9 GPA.
They’ll say his statue in Heisman Park represents a man of principle. That he passed up millions for his Sooners, for one final chance to bring his state a national championship. That he transcended its most hated rivalry and befriended a Texas quarterback who also realized there were more important things in life than football.
They’ll say that the day he announced his intentions to leave Oklahoma, grown men were fighting back tears. Not because he made the right decision, but because of how badly he wanted things to end differently.
Bradford and the Sooners were 10 points shy of their eighth national title.
They’ll say that he gave his university and its fans everything he had, and that they couldn’t have asked him for anything more.
“I dreamed about coming to Oklahoma my whole life,” he said.
"It’s extremely tough when you consider that this is where I grew up and always dreamed about playing. To put this in the past is extremely tough. But, I’ve been extremely blessed to be here and the past three and a half years have been the best of my life. I wouldn’t trade a day of it.”
Neither would we.
Boomer Sooner, young man, and thanks for the memories.
There’s only one…
Sam Bradford.
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Let's give it a shot and return to the glory days of the 1970's.
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