Although quarterback will always be the most important position on the football field, the position has changed markedly since the beginning of the 21st century, and Oklahoma has been at the center of the transformation.
For much of the last half of the prior century, particularly in the 1960s, '70s and '80s, the best teams in college football got that way with a heavy emphasis on running the football -- hence, the popular football expression of the time: "three yards and a cloud of dust."
The introduction of the Air Raid offense and spread formations in the late 1980s by innovative coaches like Hal Mumme and Mike Leach at Iowa Wesleyan, and adopted by countless others since then, began to change the game of college football, much the same way that the Oklahoma Wishbone offense had done a couple of decades before.
ESPN further solidifies Sooners' claim as QBU even with glaring omissions
The Oklahoma Sooners, who made their heralded name in college football by employing some of the sport's most prolific running attacks, ironically have been the primary beneficiary of how the quarterback position has changed over the past 25 years. An ESPN article reinforced that notion, as well as the Sooners' claim over the past couple of decades as being Quarterback U of college football.
ESPN college football writer Bill Connelly published an article in late February ranking the top 100 college quarterbacks of the 2000s. Eight former Oklahoma starting quarterbacks were listed in Connelly's top 100, including five in the top 25 and three in the top seven. Ohio State was the next closest school with six, and three others (Alabama, Georgia and USC) had five each.
Baker Mayfield, who spent his freshman year at Texas Tech before transferring to Oklahoma at the end of the 2013 season, was Connelly's No. 1 quarterback overall. Sam Bradford (No. 6) and Kyler Murray (No. 7) joined Mayfield in the top 10 on Connelly's list.
ESPN's ranking of the top 100 QBs of the 2000s includes 8 Sooners
Here is the complete list of Oklahoma players in Connelly's top 100 and their respective rankings:
1 Baker Mayfied (2014-17)
6. Sam Bradford (2007-09)
7. Kyler Murray (2016-18)
24. Caleb Williams (2021)
25. Dillon Gabriel (2023-24)
29. Jalen Hurts (2019)
39. Jason White (1999-2004)
46. Landry Jones (2009-12)
Since the 2000 season, Oklahoma has featured a total of 17 different players at the primary starting quarterback position. Eight of the 17 were represented in Connelly's top-100 ranking.
Mayfield, Murray, Bradford and White were all Heisman Trophy winners at Oklahoma. Hurts was the Heisman runner-up the one season (2019) he was at OU, and Williams was the Heisman winner in 2024 after transferring to USC.
While few Sooner fans would disagree to the Oklahoma players included on the top-100 quarterback list from 2000 to the present, there are two notable exceptions.
Josh Heupel, who was at OU in 1999 and 2000 and quarterbacked the Sooners' 2000 national championship team, was a glaring omission. Heupel ranks seventh on the Oklahoma career passing list behind No. 4 Jason White and ahead of No. 6 Dillon Gabriel with 7,456 passing yards and 53 touchdowns. He was the runner-up in the 2000 Heisman Trophy voting.
Heupel, currently head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers, went on after graduation to serve nine years (2006-10) as an assistant on Bob Stoops' staff, including four seasons (2011-14) as offensive coordinator. There is little question he earned and deserved a solid place in the top-100 ranking.
Another former Sooner quarterback who was probably overlooked and deserves to be on the top-100 list was Nate Hybl, who was the backup behind Heupel in 2000 and earned the starting role in 2001-02. Hybl is eighth on the OU career passing list and led the Sooners to a 34-14 win over Washington State in the 2003 Rose Bowl game. Oklahoma was 23-4 in Hybl's two seasons at quarterback.
Oklahoma became an adopter of the Air Raid concept when Stoops was named head coach in 1999 and hired Leach as offensive coordinator. Instead of recruiting and bringing in quarterbacks who were better fits for the Wishbone and triple-option style of football that had delivered great success and produced three national championships for Oklahoma, the Sooners began turning their attention to recruiting and bringing in quarterbacks who primarily possessed outstanding skill throwing the football.
When Stoops announced his retirement ahead of the 2017 season, the Sooners elevated Lincoln Riley to the top job. Riley was a disciple of the Air Raid system, having played at and worked on the staff under Leach at Texas Tech. He coached Mayfield, Murray, Hurts and Williams while at Oklahoma to solidify QBU.
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