Bud Wilkinson’s nice Oklahoma Sooner groups of the Fifties will all the time be remembered because the glory years of Oklahoma soccer and for the lengthy historical past of success that was to comply with. Wilkinson’s nice Oklahoma groups produced three nationwide championships, an NCAA document 47 consecutive wins and 15 consensus All-People.
However as dominant as these Fifties Oklahoma groups had been, a very good variety of the gamers believed to be the best of all-time to put on the Sooner uniform performed within the 2000s.
That can be a giant purpose why a bunch of school soccer writers and editors at USA Right this moment Sports activities included 5 former Sooners on the publication’s All-2000s Workforce in an article printed not too long ago. Two Sooners (RB Adrian Peterson and S Roy Williams) had been named to the primary workforce, and three others (QB Baker Mayfield, C Creed Humphrey and LB Teddy Lehman) to the second workforce.
Oklahoma and Alabama shared essentially the most general picks with 5 every. LSU and Miami (FL) had been subsequent with 4 apiece. Nineteen totally different faculties had been represented on the primary workforce, with six incomes a number of picks. Alabama and Miami led all faculties within the variety of first-team picks with three every.
This previous month, Athlon Sports activities printed an article naming the ten best Oklahoma soccer gamers of all-time. Six of the ten performed within the 2000s. Equally, the SEC not too long ago ranked the seven greatest Sooner gamers of all-time, and 4 of the seven are from the 2000s.
While you scan by way of the names of the first- and second-team picks and also you contemplate the variety of Heisman Trophy winners, Corridor of Famers (each faculty and professional), and NFL superstars who didn’t make the record, it’s all the extra spectacular that 5 Sooners had been among the many 51 names that comprised USA Right this moment’s 2000s All-Millennium Workforce.
For instance, a few of the Oklahoma greats who didn’t make the lower embrace Heisman QB Sam Bradford, DT Tommie Harris, DB Derrick Strait and return specialist Antonio Perkins.
Oklahoma’s USA Right this moment All-2000s First-Workforce picks
Peterson set an Oklahoma program and then-NCAA document, dashing for 1,925 yards and 15 touchdowns as a freshman in 2004. He completed second that very same season to QB Matt Leinart of USC within the Heisman Trophy voting.
Peterson completed his profession at Oklahoma with 4,045 dashing yards and 41 touchdowns, the fourth-most in Sooner historical past. He was a first-round number of the Minnesota Vikings with the seventhoverall choose within the 2007 NFL Draft and led the NFL in dashing three totally different instances in a 15-year professional profession.
Williams was a dynamic, hard-hitting defensive again who performed a distinguished position on Oklahoma’s 2000 nationwide championship workforce. He was a unanimous All-America choice in 2001 and was awarded the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as faculty soccer’s greatest defensive participant and the Jim Thorpe Award because the nation’s greatest defensive again that very same 12 months.
Williams ended his four-year Oklahoma profession with 287 tackles and 41 tackles for loss, an OU document for a defensive again. He was chosen by the Dallas Cowboys with the eighth general choose within the first spherical of the 2002 NFL Draft and performed 9 years within the NFL.
OU All-2000s Second-Workforce picks
Mayfield is taken into account by some as one of the best Oklahoma participant of all-time, an particularly excessive honor given all the nice gamers who’ve been at OU. He spent three seasons at Oklahoma after transferring following his freshman season at Texas Tech.
He was a two-time First-Workforce All-American and two-time NCAA passing chief whereas at OU and led the Sooners to 2 School Soccer Playoff appearances. Mayfield received the Heisman Trophy in 2017 and was the No. 1 general NFL Draft choose by the Cleveland Browns in 2018. He ranks second on the Oklahoma profession passing leaderboard with 12,292 passing yards and 119 touchdowns. He’s at present the beginning quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is in his ninth NFL season.
Former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton obtained the first-team nod over Mayfield from USA Right this moment.
A local Oklahoman, Humphrey was the beginning heart for the Sooners from his freshman by way of junior seasons. He achieved All-America standing each season. Humphrey was a member of the Oklahoma offensive line that received the Joe Moore Award in 2018 as faculty soccer’s greatest offensive line, and as a junior in 2020, he didn’t enable a sack on 401 move performs.
The Kansas Metropolis Chiefs chosen Humphrey within the second spherical of the 2021 NFL Draft, and he was named first-team All-NFL in every of the final two seasons.
Lehman performed for Bob Stoops’ Oklahoma groups from 2000-03 and was a member of the Sooners’ 2000 nationwide championship workforce. His senior season, in 2003, he was acknowledged because the winner of the Butkus Award as the highest linebacker in faculty soccer, in addition to the Chuck Bednarik Award as defensive participant of the 12 months.
Lehman was chosen by the Detroit Lions within the second spherical of the 2004 NFL Draft. He performed 5 NFL seasons.
