Tag: Rickey Dixon

Oklahoma Sooners safety named to Jim Thorpe Award watch list

One of the best defensive backs in the nation were added to the Jim Thorpe Award watch list.

One of the best defensive backs in college football is taking the stage once again in 2024 as [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] opted to return to the Oklahoma Sooners for his senior season.

In 2023, Bowman erupted for six interceptions, returning three of them for interceptions. He became a highlight reel waiting to happen, making quarterbacks pay for trying him in the passing game.

In addition to his six interceptions, Bowman had three passes defended and three tackles for loss.

Ahead of the 2024 season, Bowman was named to the Jim Thorpe Award Watch List. The Thorpe Award is given to the best defensive back in the nation.

Bowman is expected to take another step in his development after his breakout 2023 season. In addition to his performance on the field, his leadership of the next generation of Sooners safeties is paramount, not only to what the defense can do in 2024 but beyond.

Young safeties like [autotag]Robert Spears-Jennings[/autotag] and [autotag]Peyton Bowen[/autotag] are expected to step in for [autotag]Key Lawrence[/autotag] and [autotag]Reggie Pearson[/autotag], who left the team after 2023.

[autotag]Rickey Dixon[/autotag] won the award in 1987, the second year of the Thorpe. [autotag]Roy Williams[/autotag] took home the trophy after a dominant 2001 campaign. [autotag]Derrick Strait[/autotag] is the last Sooner to take home the Thorpe back in 2004.

Only one other program in college football history has earned three Thorpe Awards, the LSU Tigers.

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Oklahoma football all-time roster: Defensive starters and backups

See which legends of defense made the cut in our all-time Oklahoma Sooners football roster.

The Oklahoma Sooners have put together some of the more vaunted defenses in college football history. In addition to having some of the best units in the nation, the Sooners had some of the more iconic players in the sport run roughshod over their opponents.

From Lee Roy Selmon to Roy Williams, Oklahoma’s been a terror on the gridiron throughout the years.

As it was choosing the Oklahoma Sooners’ all-time offense, narrowing down defensive linemen and linebackers was a challenge as the Sooners have produced some incredibly talented players in the front seven.

For more coverage on the Oklahoma Sooners, check out SoonersWire.com. Many of the historical stats can be found at SoonerSports.com.

Check out our other College Wire all-time defenses: Alabama / Auburn / Clemson / Colorado / Florida / Georgia / Iowa / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Nebraska / North Carolina / Ohio State / Oregon / Penn State / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / USC

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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Former Oklahoma star, Cincinnati Bengals first-rounder Rickey Dixon succumbs to ALS at 53

Former Oklahoma great and College Football Hall of Famer Rickey Dixon succumbed to ALS at age 53

Rickey Dixon, an All-American at Oklahoma, and a first-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals, has died at 53 after battling the dreaded disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Dixon was diagnosed with ALS in 2013.

Dixon joined OU in 1984 and was a mainstay in the secondary. Known as a ferocious hitter, Dixon notched 170 tackles, 23 pass break-ups and 17 interceptions as a Sooner. At the time, his 17 picks were second in school history.

The Sooners went 42-5-1 during Dixon’s four years and played in the Orange Bowl each season. The 1985 team beat Penn State in the Orange Bowl to capture the Sooners’ sixth national championship.

Dixon was drafted fifth overall in the 1988 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. He played in Super Bowl XXIII for Cincinnati against San Francisco. He played there for five seasons before joining the Los Angeles Raiders in 1993 in his final professional season.

In all, Dixon played in 82 games, with six interceptions and a fumble recovery in the NFL.

He is survived by his wife, Lorraine, and four children.

Tony Casillas used some NSFW language in his tweet, which accurately sums up how everyone feels about ALS.