Oklahoma Football: Top 10 Quarterbacks in Modern Sooners History
By Chip Rouse
Aug 30, 2014; Norman, OK, USA; Former Oklahoma Sooners head coach Barry Switzer comes out of the tunnel at the end of the third quarter against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
No. 3 – Jack Mildren (1969-71)
Jack Mildren was the Oklahoma quarterback in the famed “Game of the Century” in 1971 between No. 1-ranked Nebraska and No. 2 Oklahoma. In some circles he was known as the chief operating officer of the Sooners’ Wishbone offense in its early introduction by then offensive coordinator Barry Switzer.
Mildren was from Kingsville, Texas, another one of the great high school players from the Lone Star State who traveled north of the Red River to play their college ball. He was the first quarterback at Oklahoma to operate in the Wishbone system. The Sooners began installing the Wishbone offense in the 1970 season, but it was in 1971, Mildren’s senior season, that Oklahoma began to see the benefits of the new triple-option attack, and Mildren was the heart of it at quarterback.
The Sooners went 11-1 in the 1971 season, their only loss the 35-31 thriller with Nebraska on Thanksgiving Day. Oklahoma averaged 472 rushing yards that season, with Mildren averaging over 100 yards per game and 1,289 total rushing yards for the season. He was named an All-American that season.
The Oklahoma quarterback threw for only 350 yards all season in 1971. By contrast, the Sooner quarterbacks today throw for that many yards in a single game. Mildren did throw 25 touchdown passes in his career, which at the time was a school record.
Mildren went on to play in the National Football League after his career at Oklahoma, but not as a quarterback. He was drafted in the second round of the 1972 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts, who converted him to a defensive back. Mildren played two seasons for the Colts and one season (1974) with the New England Patriots.
In 1990, Mildren was elected lieutenant governor in the state of Oklahoma, and in 1994, he ran for governor but was defeated.
The former Oklahoma All-American died in 2008 of stomach cancer. He was 58 years old.
Next: No. 2 - Jason White (1999-2004)