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November 26th, 2010
By Shawn S. Lealos, Oklahoma Sooners Examiner
The Associated Press released its list of the best football players in Big 12 history and the Oklahoma Sooners finished with seven players on the list.
The players were chosen by 20 voters from newspapers in the seven Big 12 states. Oklahoma voters included Bill Haisten of the Tulsa World, John Shinn of the Norman Transcript and Jake Trotter of The Oklahoman.
Additionally, Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops was nearly the unanimous choice as the best coach in Big 12 history. Stoops finished with 18 votes, compared to one each for Mack Brown and Bill Snyder.
Oklahoma offensive players include running back Adrian Peterson and offensive lineman Jammal Brown.
Peterson, currently playing for the Minnesota Vikings, finished his career at Oklahoma with 4,045 yards in three seasons. He was the runner up to the Heisman trophy in his freshman year and Minnesota drafted him with the seventh pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.
Offensive tackle Jammal Brown played for Oklahoma from 2001-2004. Brown was a two-time All-American (2003, 2004) and was the fifth Oklahoma Sooners player to win the Outland Trophy, awarded to the best interior lineman.
Defensive players chosen include Tommie Harris, Rocky Calmus, Teddy Lehman, Roy Williams and Derrick Strait.
Defensive tackle Tommie Harris finished his Oklahoma career with 96 tackles and nine sacks. He was the third Oklahoma Sooners player to win the Lombardi Award in 2003.
Linebacker Rocky Calmus was one of the anchors of the 2000 National Championship team. As a senior, he won the Dick Butkus Award as the nation’s best linebacker. By graduation, Calmus was the Oklahoma Sooners’ All-Time leader in tackles for a loss by a linebacker.
Linebacker Teddy Lehman had a lot to live up to following Calmus at the position but it all paid off as Lehman won the Butkus Award in 2003. He finished his four-year career at Oklahoma with 329 tackles and five interceptions.
Safety Roy Williams was responsible for one of the most memorable plays in Oklahoma Sooners history when he leapt through the air and swatted the ball out of Texas quarterback Chris Sims hands to give Oklahoma the win in 2001. He won the Nagurski Award as the nation’s best defender in 2001 and finished seventh in the Heisman voting.
Cornerback Derrick Strait played for Oklahoma for four years, including the national championship year of 2000. He won the Jim Thorpe award in 2003 for the best defensive back in the country. Strait finished his career at Oklahoma with 270 tackles and 14 interceptions.
Other Oklahoma Sooners who received votes include Jon Cooper (1), Duke Robinson (3), Trent Williams (2), Phil Loadholt (1), Mark Clayton (3), Ryan Broyles (1), Jermaine Gresham (3), Sam Bradford (1), Gerald McCoy (4), Jeremy Beal (1), Dan Cody (1), Rufus Alexander (2) and Curtis Lofton (1).
