At long last, one of Oklahoma’s best defensive players in program history is set to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported that OU defensive back Roy Williams is one of the Class of 2022 inductees into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Colorado Heisman Trophy RB Rashaan Salaam, Oklahoma State RB Terry Miller, Oklahoma DB Roy Williams, Florida State LB Marvin Jones & former Toledo/Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel named to College Football Hall of Fame’s 2022 class, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ https://t.co/YUngzCOW6C
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) January 7, 2022
Williams was one of the key defensive cogs on Oklahoma’s 2000 national championship team. He also helped co-author one of the most memorable plays in Red River Showdown history during the 2001 OU-Texas game.
With 2:06 to play and Oklahoma holding a 7-3 lead over the Longhorns, Williams made Cotton Bowl history.
Known fondly by Sooner fans as “The Play,” Williams famously blitzed, leapt over the line of scrimmage and hit Texas quarterback Chris Simms. It sprung the football loose from Simms up into the air and into the waiting arms of linebacker Teddy Lehman who raced in for the game-clinching score.
In the 2001 season, Williams became the first college player to win the Bronko Nagurski Award (nation’s best defensive player) and Jim Thorpe Award (nation’s best defensive back) in the same season. Williams recorded 107 tackles and 22 pass breakups in that 2001 season to become a unanimous All-American. Williams is just one of four defensive backs to win the Nagurski. That group includes Champ Bailey, Charles Woodson, and fellow Sooner Derrick Strait.
According to SoonerStats.com, Williams’ 22 pass breakups in 2001 still stands as the Sooners’ single-season record.
Williams finished his OU career with 287 tackles and 44 pass breakups. His 44 pass breakups only trails Derrick Strait’s 55 career pass breakups in Oklahoma history.
After his junior season, Williams was selected No. 8 overall by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2002 NFL Draft.
On Dec. 6, the Class of 2022 will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame at the 64th annual National Football Foundation Awards Dinner.
He’s reportedly joined in the 2022 College Football Hall of Fame class by former Colorado and Heisman Trophy-winning running back Rashaan Salaam, Oklahoma State running back Terry Miller, Florida State linebacker Marvin Jones and former Toledo and Missouri head football coach Gary Pinkel.
In the past decade, four Sooners have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Linebacker Rod Shoate was inducted in 2013, linebacker Brian Bosworth in 2015, safety Rickey Dixon in 2019 and head football coach Bob Stoops in 2021.
OU has placed 22 players and six coaches into the College Football Hall of Fame in its program’s history.
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