Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma football: Ranking every Sooners’ starting QB since 1999

By Aaron Gelvin

NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 23: A Ruf/Nek parades the Oklahoma Sooners flag around the field after a touchdown against the TCU Horned Frogs on November 23, 2019 at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. OU held on to win 28-24. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 23: A Ruf/Nek parades the Oklahoma Sooners flag around the field after a touchdown against the TCU Horned Frogs on November 23, 2019 at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. OU held on to win 28-24. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /
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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) /

No. 3 — Sam Bradford

Fourteen starts in 2007, 14 Starts in 2008, 3 Starts in 2009

When Sam Bradford broke onto the scene as a redshirt freshman in 2007, Sooner fans knew they had something special. Bradford had a cannon for a right arm and NFL-level height at 6-feet, 4 inches. In fact, if this list had been made a decade ago, he’d be the clear-cut number one.

But 2007 was just the beginning. Bradford and the Sooners went 11-3 that year, winning the Big 12 Championship game over Missouri and dashing the Tigers’ national championship hopes. Bradford was spectacular that night in San Antonio against the No. 1 team in the country. He was also spectacular in his first Red River Rivalry game as his buddy Colt McCoy could only watch from the sidelines as Bradford threw darts all over the field late to lift the Sooners to a 28-21 win.

But if 2007 was the appetizer, 2008 was the main course. Bradford went to the next level that year, throwing 50 touchdowns with only eight interceptions and winning the Heisman Trophy over McCoy and Tim Tebow. The weapons on that Sooner team were endless with names like Chris Brown, DeMarco Murray, Jermaine Gresham, Juaquin Iglesias and Manuel Johnson.

The Sooners bounced back from a close loss against Texas and hung 50-plus on nearly every team they faced the rest of the way. OU again topped Missouri to win the Big 12 and would face Tebow’s Florida Gators in the BCS National Championship game. Instead of a storybook ending for the Sooners, it was the Gators winning that night in Miami by a score of 24-14.

Bradford returned for the 2009 season and Sooner fans thought that year would be the dessert with the cherry on top. However, those hopes were dashed in the opener, as Bradford would injure his throwing shoulder against BYU, forcing him to sit out a few weeks. He would return as the starter to lead a victory over Baylor, and would start again in the next game against Texas. But another injury to the same shoulder ended his season and sunk OU’s title hopes.

Bradford was selected as the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams and would go on to have a promising rookie season. But injuries would derail his pro career the rest of the way, as he could never live up to that No. 1 overall pick billing. He would spend time with the Eagles, Vikings, and Cardinals and has been out of the league since 2018.

Bradford’s eye-popping 2008 season was certainly one for the record books at the time and still ranks among the best ever by an OU quarterback.

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