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Five Best Defensive Backs in Sooner Football History

By Chip Rouse

Nov 28, 2015; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners line up against the Oklahoma State Cowboys as they prepare to snap the ball at Boone Pickens Stadium. The Sooners defeated the Cowboys 58-23. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 28, 2015; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners line up against the Oklahoma State Cowboys as they prepare to snap the ball at Boone Pickens Stadium. The Sooners defeated the Cowboys 58-23. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 11, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; View of Oklahoma Sooners megaphones on the sidelines during the game against the Texas Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl. Oklahoma beat Texas 31-26. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 11, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; View of Oklahoma Sooners megaphones on the sidelines during the game against the Texas Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl. Oklahoma beat Texas 31-26. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports /

Roy Williams, Safety, 1999-2001

Roy Williams found his way to the plains of Oklahoma all the way from Northern California, where he played quarterback, wide receiver as well as defensive back in high school.

Williams was a starter on the Oklahoma 2000 national championship team that went a perfect 13-0 and capped off a championship run with an 13-2 upset over defending national champion Florida State. That same season, his sophomore year at OU, he set a program record for tackles for loss by a defensive back with 12.

The player his OU teammates nicknamed “Superman,” Williams is probably best known in his days as a Sooner for a game-changing play he executed in the 2001 Red River Rivalry game with Texas. It was late in the game with Oklahoma holding on to a narrow 7-3 margin and the Longhorns starting a drive backed up against their own end zone. On the first play from scrimmage in the series, Williams came flying in from the backside of the Sooner defense, leaped high in the air to knock down a pass from Longhorn quarterback Chris Sims right into the hands of OU linebacker Teddy Lehman, who took a single step into the end zone with what turned out to be the clinching score in a 14-3 Oklahoma win over their hated rivals from the Lone Star State.

The following season, in 2001, Williams was named a First Team All-Big 12 selection for the second consecutive year, and also received the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in the country and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s top overall defensive player.

Williams was the eighth overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft, selected in the first round by the Dallas Cowboys. He played seven seasons with the Cowboys and two with the Cincinnati Bengals. From 2003 to 2007, the former Oklahoma hard-hitting safety earned five consecutive Pro Bowl selections. He was named NFL All-Pro in 2003.

Next: Derrick Strait, Cornerback, 2000-03

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