Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma football: Sooners’ presence in NFL HOF notable by omission

By Chip Rouse

NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 9: The Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, home of the Oklahoma Sooners, is ready for a game against the Iowa State Cyclones on November 9, 2019 at in Norman, Oklahoma. OU held on to win 42-41. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 9: The Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, home of the Oklahoma Sooners, is ready for a game against the Iowa State Cyclones on November 9, 2019 at in Norman, Oklahoma. OU held on to win 42-41. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /
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Apr 26, 2018; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys former quarterback Troy Aikman throws a football from the stage prior to the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 26, 2018; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys former quarterback Troy Aikman throws a football from the stage prior to the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /

Troy Aikman

Sooner head coach Barry Switzer recruited Troy Aikman, out of Henryetta, Oklahoma, to come to Norman. Aikman was the first quarterback to start a game at Oklahoma as a freshman. Although he played in 12 games as a freshman, he completed just 6 of 20 passes for 41 yards.

The following season, as a sophomore in 1985, Aikman led the Sooners to victories over Minnesota, Kansas State and No. 17 Texas in the Red River Rivalry game. In OU’s fourth game of the season against Miami (Florida), Aikman suffered a season-ending broken ankle in the second quarter. Aikman had been six-for-seven passing for 131 yards at the time the injury occurred.

True freshman Jamelle Holieway came in to replace Aikman and finished the Miami game, which the No. 3 Sooners lost 27-14. Aikman would not play another down for OU. Miami was the only game Oklahoma would lose that season.

With Aikman, a drop-back passing quarterback, Switzer went back to the Wishbone offense with Holieway under center. It proved to be the right move, as the Sooners would go on to finish with an 11-1 record and capture their sixth national championship with an Orange Bowl win over then-No. 1 Penn State. With Holieway firmly entrenched at quarterback, Aikman transferred to UCLA after the season, and the rest is history.

Although Aikman played less than a season and a half at Oklahoma, that is where he got his start, which ultimately led to a Hall of Fame career in both college and the NFL.

He led UCLA to a 20-4 record over two seasons. He was named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year in 1987, and a year later, as a consensus All-American, was voted winner of the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s best college quarterback.

Aikman spent 12 seasons in the NFL, all with the Dallas Cowboys, who drafted the one-time Oklahoma quarterback No. 1 overall in the 1989 draft. He was a three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback with the Cowboys, MVP of Super Bowl XXVII. and a six-time Pro-Bowler.

Aikman retired from the NFL in 2000. Since 2001, he was served as an NFL analyst on FOX NFL broadcasts, partnering with play-by-play announcer Joe Buck.

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