Tag: Gary Pinkel

Oklahoma defensive back Roy Williams reportedly named as part of College Football Hall of Fame’s 2022 class

At long last, Oklahoma defensive back Roy Williams is reportedly set to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame’s 2022 class.

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.

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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ESPN ranks top 25 CFB hires of past 25 years: As expected, no Georgia or Kirby Smart

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg released his top 25 CFB hires of the last 25 years and Georgia football coach Kirby Smart was left off the list. 

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg recently released his list of the top 25 college football hires of the last 25 years and Georgia football’s hiring of head coach Kirby Smart did not make the cut.

That’s to be expected, though. 25 years is a long time. And though Kirby Smart’s already a top-five coach in college football, he has not quite accomplished enough to crack that top-25.

Before Georgia fans get all riled up about this, I should point out that the most recent hiring on this list is Penn State’s landing of Bill O’Brien in 2012, and that’s dead last at No. 25. The second most recent is Urban Meyer to Ohio State, which happened in 2011 (that’s No. 5). In addition to Kirby Smart not making it, neither did Ed Orgeron at LSU or Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma.

Just like many in the football coaching landscape, Smart started as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Georgia, before moving on to Valdosta State, Florida State and LSU. Smart then spent some more time back at UGA, until moving on to the Miami Dolphins of the NFL and more notably, spent eight years in Tuscaloosa before taking the head coaching job at Georgia in 2016.

In his top 25 hires, Rittenberg said that tenure was a major factor as well as obviously the success at the program, but also what kind of situation the coach walked into. Although Smart has taken Georgia to new heights in terms of recruiting, facilities and overall success, he didn’t exactly walk into a dumpster fire in Athens. The Bulldogs had a 75% win percentage (40-13) in Mark Richt’s last four years at Georgia.

I think it’s a popular opinion that, with more time, Smart will be considered one of the top hirings in college football history. With the way he recruits, it’s just a matter of time before Georgia brings a National Championship home to Athens. You’d be hard pressed to find a college program and fan base that are dreaming of a title more than DawgNation.

SEC hirings on the list:

  • No. 1 – Nick Saban (twice, Bama / LSU)
  • No. 6 – Urban Meyer (twice, Florida / Ohio St.)
  • No. 19 – Gary Pinkel (Missouri)
  • No. 21 – James Franklin (Vanderbilt)
  • No. 23 – Steve Spurrier (South Carolina)