Bob Stoops retires at Oklahoma: 5 best players under his watch

The Bob Stoops era is over at Oklahoma, so here are the five best players he had over his 18 seasons in Norman.

Heading into his 19th season at Oklahoma, coach Bob Stoops has abruptly announced his retirement. He leaves with a 190-48 record, a national title and 10 Big 12 titles. A highly successful run for sure, but critics might point to just one national title and no title game appearances in recent years,.

Stoops is still fairly young — he’ll be 57-years old in September — but his father’s death at age 54 as a high school football coach may be influencing his decision to enjoy life over football. Offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley will take over, and he’ll be the youngest head coach at the FBS level at 33. Stoops will step into a role as special advisor to the athletic director at Oklahoma.

Stoops could easily have an Urban Meyer-like return to coaching in a couple years. But no matter what, his time at Oklahoma should be what he’s ultimately best known for.

Stoops obviously cultivated a lot of talent under his watch over nearly two decades at Oklahoma. Here are the five best players of the “Stoops Era” in Norman.

5 . S Roy Williams

Not to be confused with the wide receiver out of Texas that also played in the NFL, Williams was a first-team All-Big 12 selection in each of his last two seasons as a Sooner. In 2001, he won the Jim Thorpe Award (best defensive back in the country) and the Bronko Nagurski Award (best overall defensive player in the country), while also winning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and being named a unanimous first-team All-American.

During Oklahoma’s national title season in 2000, Williams set a school record for tackles for loss by a defensive back (12). He was a top-10 pick in the 2002 NFL Draft (No. 8 to the Dallas Cowboys), earning five straight Pro Bowl selections from 2003-2007.