Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma football: Mount Rushmore 10 of Sooner GOATS of modern era

By Chip Rouse

KEYSTONE, SOUTH DAKOTA - JULY 02: The busts of U.S. presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln tower over the Black Hills at Mount Rushmore National Monument on July 02, 2020 near Keystone, South Dakota. President Donald Trump is expected to visit the monument and speak before the start of a fireworks display on July 3. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
KEYSTONE, SOUTH DAKOTA - JULY 02: The busts of U.S. presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln tower over the Black Hills at Mount Rushmore National Monument on July 02, 2020 near Keystone, South Dakota. President Donald Trump is expected to visit the monument and speak before the start of a fireworks display on July 3. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) /
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NORMAN, OK – Oklahoma Sooners fans wait on the statue of Heisman Trophy winner Billy Vessels before the game against the Army Black Knights at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK – Oklahoma Sooners fans wait on the statue of Heisman Trophy winner Billy Vessels before the game against the Army Black Knights at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /

No. 4 — RB Billy Vessels

Billy Vessels led Oklahoma to its first national championship in football in 1950, and two years later, he was awarded the Heisman Trophy, the first of the Sooners seven Heisman winners all-time.

Vessels broke into the Sooner backfield his sophomore season in 1950. That season, he produced 870 rushing yards and delivered 13 touchdowns, averaging 6.4 yards per carry. He also had two receiving TDs.

His 1951 season was cut short after five games. Vessels injured his knee in a 14-7 loss to Texas A&M, and he missed the final five games of the season. That season, Vessels carried the ball just 25 times on run plays and gained just 142 yards for the season.

Vessels worked extremely hard during offseason and the summer of 1952 to rehabilitate his injured knee and regain his spot in the Oklahoma backfield. He regained his starting spot in 1952 and led the Sooners that season with 1,072 rushing yards, 165 receiving yards, 209 passing yards and 20 total touchdowns. He was awarded the Heisman that season, but the performance that most likely put him over the top was a 27-21 loss to a Notre Dame that was a heavy underdog to the Sooners that season.

Despite the losing effort, Vessels ran 44 yards for one touchdown, 62 yards for another and caught a 25-yard touchdown pass for a third score. The eventual Heisman winner accounted for all three Oklahoma touchdowns in the game.

After winning the Heisman, Vessels told a New York Times reporter: “I’d never even heard of it,” he said. “It wasn’t until I was in New York the next week that I realized its full impact.”

Vessels died in 2001 at the age of 70.

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