Eric the Red Posted June 30, 2006 Share Posted June 30, 2006 Oklahoma toughest choice in Big 12 Oklahoma toughest choice in Big 12 Oklahoma toughest choice in Big 12 By Olin Buchanan, Rivals.com College Football Senior Writer On Monday, Rivals.com will open the polls and let the fans decide the greatest football player in the history of each BCS conference school. Today we take an in-depth look at the players nominated in the Big 12. The University of Oklahoma has produced 141 All-Americans in its glorious history, so anointing one as the greatest to don the Crimson & Cream is a major ordeal. Indeed, just comprising a final four offers more options than the Wishbone offense. One option could be the Sooners' four Heisman Trophy recipients: Billy Vessels, Steve Owens, Billy Sims and Jason White. Another might be Walter Camp Trophy winners: Sims, Owens, Jerry Tubbs and Josh Heupel. Still another just might be Selmons: Lee Roy, Lucious, Dewey and their mother, who raised her sons in Eufala, Okla., then sent them to Norman. So if picking four is that difficult, the best way to select one might be resorting to the time-tested strategy of passing the buck. We asked the opinion of the coach that lured many of those great players to OU. So, Barry Switzer, who's best? "Lee Roy Selmon is considered maybe the best player that ever played here, but you have to go by positions," Switzer said. "Take Billy Sims. I look at the running backs and Sims had it all – speed, size, strength and that innate running ability. He was like (Texas running back) Earl Campbell in that he came out of East Texas and went on to win the Heisman Trophy. Earl came out first and then Billy did the same thing. Billy probably should have won the Heisman Trophy twice, but they gave it to (USC running back) Charles White (in 1979). But that was all politics." Olin's picks Baylor: Mike Singletary Colorado: Byron "Whizzer" White Iowa State: Troy Davis Kansas: Gale Sayers Iowa State: Darren Sproles Missouri: Johnny Roland Nebraska: Tommie Frazier Oklahoma: Lee Roy Selmon Oklahoma State: Barry Sanders Texas: Vince Young Texas A&M: John Kimbrough Texas Tech: Zach Thomas That's a major endorsement for Sims, except that Switzer once hailed "Little Joe" Washington as the greatest – and definitely the most elusive – of all Sooners running backs. However, Washington acknowledged he'd cast his vote for Selmon. Lee Roy, that is. "I think Lee Roy was the best," Washington said. "I was fortunate to play with guys like Lee Roy who made it a lot easier for me. I could take chances. I could fumble or retreat 50 yards because we had the kind of defense that could take care of you." Not many running backs ever got past Lee Roy Selmon, and Sims might not if they are matched up in the final of the Rivals.com Greatest Player poll. That could set a trend of Heisman Trophy winners coming up short in the Big 12 Conference fields. The schools in the Big 12 have produced a dozen recipients of the Heisman, which is supposedly presented to the best player in college football each year, but only Oklahoma State's Barry Sanders figures to be an overwhelming choice as greatest player. In fact, former Heisman recipient Eric Crouch doesn't even make Nebraska's final four, and neither Mike Rozier nor Johnny Rodgers is a sure bet over quarterback Tommie Frazier, who guided the Cornhuskers to back-to-back national championships in the mid-90s. Even Campbell, a certified Texas legend, isn't assured greatest player status, despite Switzer's endorsement. But then Switzer never faced quarterback Vince Young, who last January led the Longhorns to their first national championship in 35 years. Of course, if Switzer had faced a quarterback like Young he'd have wanted to have a player like Lee Roy Selmon on defense. "He could do it all," Switzer said of Selmon. "He was just a great pass rusher. He had great cat-like quickness and he was going full speed by the second step. He had a good burst. A pass rusher has to have a burst to get by the guy trying to block you." Blocking Selmon from winning OU's greatest player voting may prove as difficult as blocking him on the field. Even for a Heisman Trophy winner. Baylor Bears The candidates: No. 1 Mike Singletary vs. No. 4 Thomas Everett No. 2 Lawrence Elkins vs. No. 3 Barton "Botchey" Koch The skinny: The biggest surprise here is that Singletary faces Everett in the first round. A former Thorpe Award winner, Everett could have been seeded higher and could have avoided the heavily favored Singletary until the final. Singletary, the Southwest Conference's defensive player of the decade in the '80s, returned an interception for a touchdown in his second collegiate game. He scores a first-round win, too. Elkins still holds the Baylor record with 19 career receiving touchdowns despite playing in a run-oriented era. Koch was the Bears' and the Southwest Conference's first All-American. But linemen often get overlooked, especially those who played more than 70 years ago. Our pick: Singletary, Baylor's only three-time All-American, steamrolls Elkins in the final. Colorado Buffaloes The candidates: No. 1 Byron "Whizzer" White vs. No. 4 Rashaan Salaam No. 2 Darian Hagan vs. No. 3 Bobby Anderson The skinny: This tough field includes two Hall of Famers, a Heisman Trophy winner and a national championship quarterback. Colorado was virtually ignored until White became the school's first All-American. That's first All-American in any sport. He rushed for 1,864 yards and scored 21 touchdowns, but put up bigger numbers on IQ tests. A Rhodes Scholar, he was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Kennedy in 1960. Hagan passed for more than 3,000 yards and rushed for more than 2,000 in a career in which he led the Buffaloes to their only national championship. Anderson recently joined White in the College Football Hall of Fame, and Salaam won the Heisman Trophy in 1994 when he rushed for a school record 2,055 yards. Our pick: Snubbing White, who put Colorado football on the map, would be a supreme injustice. He tops Salaam and then beats Hagan in the final. Iowa State Cyclones The candidates: No. 1 Troy Davis vs. No. 4 George Amundson No. 2 Matt Blair vs. No. 3 Ed Bock The skinny: Don't discount the underdogs in this field because they all led the traditional underdog Cyclones to some of their greatest moments. Davis led the nation in rushing in 1995 and '96 while earning All-American honors both times and finishing as runner-up in the '96 Heisman voting. Blair was an All-American rover and helped the Cyclones to their first bowl appearance. Bock, a guard, was Iowa State's first consensus All-American, and Amundson played running back and quarterback in leading the Cyclones to their second-ever bowl game. Our pick: It takes a big name to knock off a star running back, and none is big enough to thwart Davis, who's an easy choice over Blair. Kansas Jayhawks The candidates: No. 1 Gale Sayers vs. No. 4 John Riggins No. 2 Ray Evans vs. No. 3 Nolan Cromwell The skinny: How do you like you're running backs: Speedy and elusive or tough and powerful? That preference should settle the first-round matchup between the shifty Sayers and bullish Riggins. The other matchup is a memory test. Evans is Kansas' first All-American and led the nation passing and interceptions (caught, not thrown) in 1947, but Cromwell was a record-setting quarterback after playing safety his first two seasons. Our pick: They didn't call him the "Kansas Comet" for nothing. Sayers streaks to victory over Riggins and Cromwell. Kansas State Wildcats The candidates: No. 1 Terence Newman vs. No. 4 Gary Spani No. 2 Michael Bishop vs. No. 3 Darren Sproles The skinny: It's said that defense wins championship, so the first round matchup of the two best defensive players in Kansas State history – Newman and Spani – should be intriguing. Does defense also win over recent memories, too? And will K-State voters forgive Bishop the late fumble that ultimately cost the Wildcats the 1998 Big 12 championship and perhaps the national title? Our pick: Newman shut down Texas' Roy Williams and Oklahoma State's Rashaun Woods and now he shuts down Spani, too. The explosive Sproles fared much better than Bishop in conference championship games. His 235 yards rushing and 323 total yards in the 2003 upset of Oklahoma in the 2003 Big 12 title game should propel him to a modest upset over Newman. Missouri Tigers The candidates: No. 1 Johnny Roland vs. No. 4 Paul Christman No. 2 Roger Wehrli vs. No. 3 Brad Smith The skinny: Quarterbacks usually get all the acclaim, so this final four will test that trend as well as the voters' sense of history. Smith was the most dynamic Tiger in recent memory, but Wehrli was a consensus All-American cornerback in 1968. Roland was an all-conference running back as a sophomore then switched to the secondary and was an All-American defensive back. However, Christman beat a lot of defensive backs en route to leading the nation in touchdown passes in 1940. Our pick: Short-term memory reigns in one first-round matchup as Smith tops Wehrli, but history cannot be ignored completely and Roland prevails overall. Nebraska Cornhuskers The candidates: No. 1 Tommie Frazier vs. No. 4 Will Shields No. 2 Mike Rozier vs. No. 3 Johnny Rodgers The skinny: The field includes two Heisman Trophy recipients and a quarterback of consecutive national championship teams. However, offensive linemen are probably appreciated more at Nebraska than anywhere else and the appropriately named Shields is arguably the Huskers best blocker ever. Our pick: Even great offensive linemen are overshadowed by quarterbacks, so Tommie Frazier advances by Shields and then tops Rodgers in the final by virtue of national championships, 2-1. Oklahoma Sooners The candidates: No. 1 Lee Roy Selmon vs. No. 4 Joe Washington No. 2 Billy Sims vs. No. 3 Tommy McDonald The skinny:Oklahoma has had so many great players that three of its Heisman Trophy recipients don't make the field. Sims, a Heisman winner who did make the field, might seem like a favorite, but many Sooners fans still end prayers with the phrase "God bless Mrs. Selmon" for raising three of OU's greatest defensive players. "I'd vote for Lee Roy Selmon. I always thought Lee Roy was pretty special," said Washington, the first great back of the Barry Switzer era. "I never saw Lee Roy get blocked. They double teamed him all the time and he was never off his feet. He had such unbelievable strength and quickness, and he was such a nice guy. But if he was the rudest dude in the world I'd still vote for him." Our pick: Some say Washington is the greatest of all Sooners running backs, which is incredibly high praise. Yet, Washington says Selmon is the greatest Sooners player and that's good enough for us. Heck, just being the greatest Selmon (over brothers Lucious and Dewey) probably settles the issue. Oklahoma State Cowboys The candidates: No. 1 Barry Sanders vs. No. 4 Leslie O'Neal No. 2 Rashaun Woods vs. No. 3 Thurman Thomas The skinny: In no other field is the top seed such a prohibitive favorite. Woods, O'Neal and Thomas would all acknowledge this is a race for second place. Our pick: Sanders, the Cowboys' only Heisman winner, recorded perhaps the greatest individual season ever by rushing for 2,628 yards and scoring 39 touchdowns in 1988. He couldn't be stopped on the field and he can't be stopped in this field. Texas Longhorns The candidates: No. 1 Vince Young vs. No. 4 Tommy Nobis No. 2 Earl Campbell vs. No. 3 Ricky Williams The skinny: Hard to beat this lineup for star power. Campbell and Williams had their numbers retired, and no one wants to wear Nobis' number any more because the legacy is too great. And Young? Don't expect any Longhorns to wear 10 again. Our pick: Young has enjoyed 20 consecutive victories as Texas quarterback. Now, it's 22. Leading the Longhorns to the 2005 national championship provides the momentum to reach the final and prevail over Campbell, previously Texas' most revered star. Texas A&M Aggies The candidates: No. 1 John Kimbrough vs. No. 4 Jacob Green No. 2 John David Crow vs. No. 3 Ray Childress The skinny: No university embraces history like Texas A&M, and that will provide a big boost for old-timers Kimbrough, who led the Aggies to the 1939 national championship, and Crow, Bear Bryant's only Heisman Trophy winner. Our pick: It's Kimbrough and Crow in the final, and "Jarrin' " John Kimbrough reigns. He led A&M to 20 consecutive wins from 1939 and 40 and the proudly nostalgic Aggies won't forget. Texas Tech Red Raiders The candidates: No. 1 E.J. Holub vs. No. 4 Byron Hanspard No. 2 Gabe Rivera vs. No. 3 Zach Thomas The skinny: No field is more conducive to a lower seed emerging than this one. When an offensive lineman is the top seed – even one as good and ornery as Holub – then all the elements are in place for an upset. Thomas and "Senor Sack" Rivera are the two best defensive players to star on the South Plains. Our pick: Holub, maybe the best overall player in Tech history, should advance past Hanspard to the final, but he can't get past Thomas. Few ever did. Quote Link to comment
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