Latest news with #Stoops
USA Today
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Trio of former Sooners on College Football Hall of Fame ballot
Trio of former Sooners on College Football Hall of Fame ballot A trio of Oklahoma Sooners players are once again on the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame ballot. After also being included on last year's ballot, quarterback Josh Heupel and linebackers Rocky Calmus and George Cumby are back on the list for induction into the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. In all, 79 FBS players and 10 head coaches are on this year's ballot for induction into the Hall, as well as 100 players and 35 coaches from all other divisions. Votes will be tabulated from among the more than 12,000 NFF members and Hall of Famers and submitted to the NFF Honors Court, which will deliberate and select the next class, which will be revealed in January. Over the years, OU has had 30 players and four coaches inducted into the Hall. The most recent inductee is defensive lineman Dewey Selmon in 2024. Heupel was the first starting quarterback of the Bob Stoops era in 1999. After playing college football for Weber State in 1996 and 1997 and Snow College (a community college) in 1998, he transferred to Oklahoma for his final two collegiate seasons. After guiding the Sooners to a 7-5 record in 1999, the Aberdeen, South Dakota native helped lead OU to an undefeated 13-0 record and a consensus national championship in 2000. He was the runner-up in Heisman Trophy voting after an excellent season in Year 2 under Stoops. Heupel helped usher in the Air Raid offense to Oklahoma, a place that had relied heavily on the triple option for its entire history up until 1999. The Sooners have been running some form of the Air Raid or Spread offenses ever since. Despite going undrafted, Heupel spent time with the NFL's Miami Dolphins and Green Bay Packers, but never saw the field in the pros from 2001 to 2002. He returned to OU as a grad assistant in 2004 before coaching tight ends at Arizona in 2005 under head coach Mike Stoops. Heupel returned to Oklahoma to coach quarterbacks from 2006 to 2010, where he mentored Paul Thompson, Heisman-winner Sam Bradford, and Landry Jones. He earned the role of co-offensive coordinator (along with Jay Norvell) once Kevin Wilson left to take the Indiana head coaching job, and called the plays for the Sooners from 2011 to 2014, while also coaching the quarterbacks. Despite a solid first two seasons with Landry Jones still under center, Heupel's offenses fell off in the last two seasons with the trio of Trevor Knight, Blake Bell and Cody Thomas starting games. Stoops fired Heupel and Norvell after the 2014 season, replacing them with Lincoln Riley. Heupel spent a season as Utah State's OC and two years as Missouri's OC. He became UCF's head coach in 2018, spending three years there before landing his current gig, head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers. He's done an excellent job on Rocky Top, leading the Vols out of the wilderness they were in before his arrival. Calmus was a local product from Jenks, Oklahoma who played for the Sooners from 1998 to 2001. He saw the final season of the John Blake era and the first three seasons under Stoops. He too was a big part of OU's 2000 national title team, and ended his career as a two-time consensus All-American. Calmus' position coach was none other than Brent Venables, who was the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in Norman back in those days. Calmus was a two-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and won the 2001 Butkus Award that is given annually to the nation's best linebacker. One of the best defensive players in the modern era of OU Football (1999 to present), Calmus spent three NFL seasons with the Tennessee Titans and one with the Indianapolis Colts, after being selected in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft with the 77th overall pick. Calmus dealt with plenty of injuries during his pro career, but that certainly doesn't diminish what he did at the college level. He was an integral part of those early Stoops-Venables defenses in Norman. Cumby was a two-time All-American at linebacker for Oklahoma from 1976 to 1979 under head coach Barry Switzer. He was a two time Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year as well. The Tyler, Texas native finished fifth in school history with 405 tackles, including 160 as a senior in 1979, still fourth in school history. He was a first round pick of the Green Bay Packers in the 1980 NFL Draft (26th overall). In his second season in the league, Cumby had three interceptions and was named second-team All-Pro. He played six professional seasons with the Packers, one for the Buffalo Bills and one for the Philadelphia Eagles, ending his NFL career with five interceptions and six recovered fumbles. Another familiar name on the ballot to Sooner fans is Larry Coker, who coached the Miami Hurricanes to the 2001 national title. He was Oklahoma's offensive coordinator under head coach Gary Gibbs from 1990 to 1992. Coker is Oklahoma through and through. He is a native of Okemah, played football at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, and coached at both of the state's other FBS programs, Oklahoma State and Tulsa. Additionally, former Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2027. The Hall lowered the win percentage eligibility criteria from .600 to .595, meaning Leach can now get in. "The Pirate" passed away in 2022 with a .596 win percentage. Leach was the first offensive coordinator Stoops hired upon getting the OU job, and he was the pioneer of the Air Raid at Oklahoma. Though he spent just the 1999 season in Norman, his impact is still being felt at Oklahoma to this day, as the Sooners just hired a young Air Raid disciple named Ben Arbuckle to be the new offensive coordinator. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.
USA Today
24-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
How many Sooners made The Athletic's list of best CFB players since 2000? Who was snubbed?
How many Sooners made The Athletic's list of best CFB players since 2000? Who was snubbed? The Oklahoma Sooners have had more success than just about every other college football program during the 21st century. With a few exceptions, very few teams have been better than OU since 1999. Of course, it was after a dismal decade from 1989 to 1998, when the Sooners sunk to unprecedented lows, that new athletic director Joe Castiglione hired Florida defensive coordinator Bob Stoops to right the ship in Norman. When Stoops took the reins before the 1999 season, he set Oklahoma on a path that it's still on today. The Sooners won the national championship in Year 2 for Stoops during the 2000 season, and they have captured a bevy of conference championships over the last 26 seasons. They've been one of college football's premier programs of the last quarter-century. Bruce Feldman, who covers college football for The Athletic, took on the daunting task of ranking the 25 best college football players of the last 25 years. Narrowing down all of the sport's greats to only 25 since 2000 is extremely difficult, but Feldman took on the challenge. Just two Sooners made Feldman's list, beginning with safety Roy Williams, who starred for Oklahoma in the early Stoops years. Feldman has him as the No. 18 player in college football since 2000. He totaled 287 tackles, 34 TFLs, 9 INTs and 44 PBUs overall in his career and was stellar during the 2001 season, racking up 107 tackles, 14 TFLs, 5 INTs and 22 PBUs. "A standout on the Sooners' 2000 national title team, the 6-1, 220-pound California native set a BCS national title game record for most tackles by a defensive back with 12 as Oklahoma shut down Florida State 13-2," Feldman said. "The next season, as a junior, Williams became the first player to win both the Nagurski Trophy, as the nation's top defensive player, and the Thorpe Award, honoring the country's best defensive back. Williams' signature play happened in the 2001 Red River Rivalry game with Texas pinned deep near its goal with two minutes remaining and OU clinging to a 7-3 lead. Williams crowded the line before the snap, backed up, then blitzed, racing in and leaping over Longhorns running back Brett Robin, nearly swiping the ball out of Chris Simms' hand. The ball bounced into the hands of Teddy Lehman, who grabbed the fluttering ball and scored to propel Oklahoma to a 14-3 win." The other OU player to make the list was quarterback Baker Mayfield, who led the Sooners for the final two years of the Stoops era and the first season under Lincoln Riley. Feldman has him as the No. 14 player in the sport since 2000. He totaled 14,607 passing yards, 131 passing TDs, 1,083 rushing yards and 21 rushing TDs in his career. He had an unbelievable 2017 season when he went off for 4,627 passing yards, 43 passing TDs, 311 rushing yards and 5 rushing TDs. "Mayfield won the starting job as a walk-on freshman at Texas Tech in 2013 before transferring to Oklahoma, where he also initially walked on," Feldman said. "He flourished in Lincoln Riley's system, leading the Sooners to three Big 12 titles and two Playoff bids and finishing in the top four of the Heisman race three years in a row, including winning the award in 2017. Mayfield was at his best when the spotlight was brightest. In his return game to Lubbock, facing all sorts of animosity from the Red Raiders crowd, Mayfield passed for 545 yards and seven TDs (with no INTs) in a 66-59 win to outduel Patrick Mahomes. In 2017, he threw for 386 yards and three TDs, completing 77 percent of his passes in a blowout win at No. 5 Ohio State. He later shredded rival Oklahoma State for 598 passing yards and five TDs in a 62-52 win in Stillwater. He threw for seven TDs and zero picks in two games against top-10 TCU that season and had No. 2 Georgia on the ropes in a 54-48 loss in the CFP semifinal." Both Williams and Mayfield have a good argument that they could be ranked higher, as Williams was the engine of one of college football's best defenses for multiple seasons and has a national championship ring. Mayfield pulled the program out of a lull in the later Stoops years and won more conference championships than he lost conference games. Both players are questionably ranked behind guys like DeVonta Smith, Andrew Luck, Larry Fitzgerald, Terrell Suggs, and Travis Hunter. In fact, Mayfield landed at No. 2 on a very similar list from ESPN last summer. His spot on Feldman's list feels far too low, especially considering a Heisman Trophy has his name on it and he was a finalist two other times. While we're on the subject, plenty more OU players had to have been considered. Quarterbacks include Josh Heupel, Jason White, Sam Bradford, Landry Jones, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts. Running backs like Adrian Peterson and DeMarco Murray and pass catchers like Mark Clayton, Malcolm Kelly, Juaquin Iglesias, Jermaine Gresham, Ryan Broyles, Dede Westbrook, and CeeDee Lamb certainly have an argument. Defensively, it's tough to argue against the likes of Torrance Marshall, Rocky Calmus, Teddy Lehman, Derrick Strait, Tommie Harris, Dusty Dvoracek, Curtis Lofton and Gerald McCoy. Those OU defenses, especially until Brent Venables left after the 2011 season, were feared across the Big 12 and college football. Now, with Venables following Stoops and Riley as Oklahoma's third head coach over the last 26 seasons, it's time for the Sooners to put more players onto lists like these in the years to come. That starts with a pivotal 2025 season, the 27th season since Castiglione hired Stoops and thereby brought OU Football back to the top of college football. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Aaron on X @Aaron_Gelvin.
USA Today
08-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Former Oklahoma coach pokes fun at Texas college programs
Former Oklahoma coach pokes fun at Texas college programs Former Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops has gotten off to a hot start in early stages of the 2025 season in the United Football League. After defeating the San Antonio Brahmas in their first game, Stoops' Arlington Renegades took down the Houston Roughnecks over the weekend to improve to 2-0. After the game, which moved Stoops to 2-0 against the other UFL teams in Texas, the legendary head coach was asked about his level of pride in becoming the "UFL Texas State Champion" and getting his second win of the season. "Oh, you can't get an Oklahoma former head coach to say it," Stoops said with a laugh. "I had my share of wins against Texas teams ... anyway, it's just good to be 2-0, and I didn't even process that it was two of the Texas teams, but so be it, you know. I'm just gonna try and win another one next week." Stoops' lighthearted jab at some old Big 12 Conference rivals is accurate, as the former OU coach had plenty of success in his heyday against teams like Texas, Baylor, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and TCU, among others. He had a winning record against each of the programs from the Lone Star State, save for a 1-1 mark against Houston. "Big Game Bob" posted an 11-7 record against the rival Longhorns and dominated the Big 12, winning 10 conference titles in 18 seasons. In the entirety of the league's existence (1996-present), teams from Texas have only claimed nine league titles. Stoops' hot start in the UFL in 2025 could have him in line to chase down another spring football championship, which he also accomplished in 2023 in the XFL, also with the Renegades.
USA Today
30-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Bob Stoops victorious in 2025 UFL season-opener
Bob Stoops victorious in 2025 UFL season-opener Good luck to our former Sooners as @TheUFL season kicks off today! ☝️ — Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) March 28, 2025 Former Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops, the all-time winningest coach in program history, is back in the saddle coaching the UFL's Arlington Renegades. As the second season of the league began this weekend, Stoops was back in the win column, leading Arlington to a win over the San Antonio Brahmas by a score of 33-9 at home. This is Stoops' fourth season coaching spring football, all with the Renegades, following his retirement from coaching the Sooners in the summer of 2017. In the 2020 version of the XFL that did not finish the season, he coached the Dallas Renegades. The team's starting quarterback for that partial season was Landry Jones, who is the all-time leading passer in OU history and started 50 games for Stoops from 2009 to 2012. The XFL was reborn in 2023 and Stoops led the Arlington Renegades to the league's championship that spring. The XFL merged with the USFL, the other major spring football league, to form the United Football League. After the inaugural season last year, the league is back for Year 2 in 2025, with Stoops still on the sidelines. But Stoops isn't the only former Sooner that is a part of the Renegades. His offensive coordinator, Chuck Long, was Stoops' play-caller from 2002 to 2005 at Oklahoma. He helped OU get to two national championship games and mentored Heisman Trophy winner Jason White. Three former Sooners are also on the roster for the Renegades in offensive lineman Adrian Ealy and defensive linemen Amani Bledsoe and LaRon Stokes. There are a few other familiar names to Sooner Nation that play or coach for the other UFL teams. Defensive back Tre Norwood and defensive lineman Perrion Winfrey both play for the defending champion Birmingham Stallions. Defensive lineman Dillon Faamatau plays for the Memphis Showboats, and defensive lineman Isaiah Coe plays for the St. Louis Battlehawks. On the coaching side, former OU wide receiver Lee Morris is a quality control coach for the Showboats, while Chris Wilson, who played and coached at Oklahoma, is the defensive coordinator/linebackers coach for the Houston Roughnecks. The UFL has ten weeks of the regular season, after which the top two teams from each conference will face off in the league semifinals before the UFL championship. That game will be played in June.
NBC Sports
26-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Rams WR Drake Stoops says his two-game PED suspension was for taking Adderall
When the NFL suspended Rams wide receiver Drake Stoops two games for violating the league policy on performance-enhancing substances, the NFL announcement did not say what substance Stoops took. Stoops says it was Adderall. Stoops said he took the medication to help him stay awake while driving. He acknowledged that he did not have a therapeutic use exemptions, which is required of players who take Adderall and some other prescription medications that are on the banned substance list. 'It was just an honest mistake,' Stoops told the Oklahoman. 'It's not steroids or anything like that, and I would never try to gain an unfair advantage or cheat the game or the process in any way like that.' Several NFL players have been suspended for taking Adderall, which is a trade name for a stimulant used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy. Stoops said he appreciates how the Rams have handled the matter. 'When I reached out to the Rams, they were nothing but supportive and great about it,' Stoops said. 'They've had my back the whole entire way and that means the world to me. So, I'm excited to have that behind me now and go forward and just put my best foot forward.' The son of former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops, Drake Stoops was generally not viewed as an NFL prospect during his six seasons at Oklahoma, but he made the Rams' practice squad last year as an undrafted rookie and spent the whole season with the team. The suspension is a setback but won't keep him from fighting for a roster spot this year — starting in Week Three.
