Counting Down Five Sooner Football Favorites of All-Time

There is a big distinction between compiling a list of the five best or the five favorite Oklahoma Sooner football players of all-time.

The former is based more on statistical performance and individual accomplishment; the latter also factors on-the-field performance, but also has a lot to do with entertainment value.

My list of the five best Sooner players ever would be very different from my five favorite OU players of all-time. For one thing, my favorites are more about the players I have enjoyed watching the most over my lifetime. If I were putting together a list of the best Oklahoma football players of all-time, however, my universe of considerations would extend over a longer period of time, and admittedly be much more difficult to narrow down to just five individuals.

Aug 23, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford (8) warms up before the game against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Continuing our series of countdowns to the kickoff of the 2015 college football season – which for the Sooners is now just nine days until the season opener against Akron – here are the five players I consider my favorite Oklahoma football players of all-time, presented in ascending order beginning with No. 5.

5. Sam Bradford

Prior to the start of the 2007 season Sam Bradford was in competition with two other Sooner quarterback candidates for the starting role. When Bradford was awarded the starting job, no one perhaps outside of the Oklahoma City area had much of an idea what that would mean for OU football. Bob Stoops and his coaches had a very good idea, though, that Bradford would take the job and run with it – or perhaps “light up the OU arial game with laser-like accuracy” would be a better way to describe it.

Bradford was a very good high school quarterback, but at Oklahoma he evolved into not only one of the best quarterbacks in college football, but one of the best players overall in the country during the time he played. The fact that he won college football’s top individual honor, the Heisman Trophy, in his second full season (2008) is solid testimony to his athletic talent but also to the type of person he is.

In his very first collegiate game, against North Texas in 2007, Bradford completed 21 of 23 passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns. That proved to be just a taste of what his career would be as the Sooners’ starting quarterback. I was impressed with how accurate Josh Heupel was throwing the football throughout most of the Sooners’ national championship year in 2000, but that was until I had the chance to witness Bradford in action.

Bradford completed almost 68 percent of his passes in an his relatively short career at Oklahoma. – which due to injury and an early departure for the NFL was just a little over two seasons – and threw an incredible 50 touchdown passes in 2008, which is a school record. By comparison, Heupel threw just 20 TD passes in the 2000 national championship season.

Bradford was a team leader, although not overly demonstrative or pretentious in his actions. He took control on the field, went about his business with great discipline, confidence and the precision of a marksman and let his actions do the talking.

It was heartbreaking to see his career at Oklahoma cut short by a shoulder injury suffered in the very first game after his decision to forego the 2009 NFL draft and return to OU for one more season.

As it turned out, he didn’t do any worse for sitting out an extra year before turning pro. Despite the fact he played in only three games his final season at Oklahoma, Bradford was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

More than just an All-American football player, Bradford also was an excellent student (Academic All-Big 12 First Team). You also won’t be giving him any strokes on the golf course.