Five Best Defensive Backs in Sooner Football History
By Chip Rouse
Randy Hughes, Safety, 1972-74
Randy Hughes was a highly regarded in-state recruit from Tulsa Memorial High School. The Tulsa World newspaper named him the 1971 Prep Player of the Year in the state of Oklahoma, the first defensive back to ever win the award.
The six-foot, four-inch defensive back played safety for the Sooners in the early years of the Barry Switzer coaching era. Oklahoma lost just one game (to Colorado in 1972) and tied one (USC in 1973) to go along with 32 wins and three Big Eight championships in the three years that Hughes was patrolling the back end of the OU defense.
Hughes became the starting strong safety for the Sooners in Switzer’s first season as head coach, in 1973. He led the team in interceptions that season with five. He picked off a total of 14 passes in his career at OU, tied for seventh place all-time with Derrick Strait (2000-03).
Hughes and Zac Henderson were teammates in the OU secondary in 1974, Hughes’ final season as a Sooner and Henderson’s first.
The Tulsa native was twice an All-Big Eight selection, and in 1974 was named a second-team All-American. Hughes was a drafted in the fourth round of the 1975 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys. He played six seasons with the Cowboys before a shoulder injury ended his pro career in 1981.
In 1979, Hughes was named to the Big Eight 1970s All-Decade Team, and in 1995 he was voted to the All-Time Big Eight Team.
Next: Roy Williams, Safety, 1999-2001