Oklahoma football: Congratulations to Dewey Selmon, new College Football Hall of Famer
By Chip Rouse
Legendary Oklahoma defensive lineman Dewey Selmon had been named to the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame class.
Dewey is one of three Selmon brothers who played at OU. Brothers Lee Roy and Lucious were also defensive standout for the Sooners. All three were All-Americans at Oklahoma in the first half of the 1970s.
Dewey played for the Sooners between 1972 and 1975 and earned first-team All-America status his junior season in 1974 and was a consensus All-American in 1975. He played both defensive tackle and nose guard on the OU defense.
The Sooners were an incredible 43-2-1 in the four seasons Dewey was at OU and won four consecutive Big Eight championships. The Oklahoma teams during that time ranked in the top three of the AP rankings every season, including No. 1 in back-to-back years (1974-75).
Sooner legend and former Oklahoma defensive lineman Dewey Selmon selected as a member of the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class. https://t.co/5KocKYo2Pv | #OUDNA pic.twitter.com/cC3N8dOPVo
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) January 8, 2024
His brother Lee Roy was there at the same time as a defensive tackle and was also an All-American. While the Selmon brothers were at Oklahoma the popular phrase was: "Lee Roy buries 'em, and Dewey calls the next of kin."
Older brother Lucious was at OU just ahead of Dewey and Lee Roy and also earned All-America honors.
Dewey grew up with his two legendary brothers in Eufaula, Oklahoma. He ended his outstanding career at OU with 325 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. In the rivalry game with Texas in 1974, Dewey registered an outlandish 22 tackles, which still stands as the single-game school record for a defensive tackle.
The youngest of the three famed Selmon brothers, Dewey was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 1976 NFL Draft. He played seven seasons in the NFL with both Tampa Bay and the San Diego Chargers.
Dewey joins Lee Roy as a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. The latter becomes the 24th former Oklahoma player to be voted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Dewey was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame in 2022.
His college accomplishments go beyond football. He earned a Ph.D. in Philosophy from OU and is a member of the College Academic Hall of Fame. Dewey is 70 years old and lives in Norman.