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Oklahoma football: Sam Bradford won the Heisman on this date in 2008

By Chip Rouse

ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 05: Quarterback Sam Bradford #14 of the Oklahoma Sooners warms up before a game against the Brigham Young Cougars at Cowboys Stadium on September 5, 2009 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 05: Quarterback Sam Bradford #14 of the Oklahoma Sooners warms up before a game against the Brigham Young Cougars at Cowboys Stadium on September 5, 2009 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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Sam Bradford’s 2008 Oklahoma football season was one of the best ever recorded by a Sooner quarterback.

In his sophomore season as the OU starting quarterback, Bradford, who grew up as a boyhood fan of Oklahoma football in nearby Oklahoma City, had a career year, leading the Sooners to a 12-1 record and a spot opposite Florida in the 2009 BCS national championship game.

The Sooners lost that game, 24-14, but Bradford finished the 2008 season with 4,720 passing yards, third best in the country that year, a nation-best 50 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His 180.84 passing efficiency rating was also the best among NCAA Division I quarterbacks.

Bradford’s performance in the 2008 season earned him college football’s top individual honor, the Heisman Trophy, which was presented to him in the annual Heisman presentation ceremony on Dec. 14, 2008. He became only the second sophomore to win the prestigious award (Tim Tebow of Florida was the first as the recipient the year before Bradford).

NORMAN, OK – OCTOBER 29: Oklahoma Sooners fans wait on the statue of Heisman winner Sam Bradford before the game against the Kansas Jayhawks October 29, 2016 at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK – OCTOBER 29: Oklahoma Sooners fans wait on the statue of Heisman winner Sam Bradford before the game against the Kansas Jayhawks October 29, 2016 at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /

That set up a situation in the BCS National Championship in 2009 in which the two starting quarterbacks (Tebow of Florida and Bradford for OU) opposed each other as the past two Heisman winners.

In addition to the Heisman, as college football’s most outstanding player in the 2008 season, Bradford also won the Davey O’Brien Award as the best college quarterback. All of that coming just 16 months after being named the starting quarterback at one of college football’s most accomplished programs.

Bradford suffered a shoulder injury in Oklahoma’s first game in the 2009 season, which forced him to miss several games. He reinjured the shoulder in the Red River Rivalry game against Texas and missed the remainder of the 2009 season.

The 2008 Heisman winner elected to forgo his senior season and declared for the 2010 NFL Draft. Despite seeing action in just three games his junior year, Bradford was the No. 1 overall selection in the NFL Draft, the top selection of the St. Louis Rams.

Bradford spent nine seasons in the NFL, most of it (5 years) with the Rams. He played two seasons for the Minnesota Vikings and one year each with the Arizona Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles. His rookie year in 2010, Bradford was voted the Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press.

While at Oklahoma, Bradford wore the No. 8 jersey. He wore that same jersey number during eight of his nine NFL seasons. His final season, at Arizona in 2018, he wore No. 9 because the No. 8 jersey number was retired and belonged to NFL Hall of Fame defensive back Larry Wilson.

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