Best Oklahoma football players: Modern-era Mount Rushmore

Baker Mayfield and The Boz are two of the best Oklahoma football players ever and make up half of the Sooners’ modern era Mount Rushmore. Who else joins them?

Whether it’s been Barry Switzer, Bob Stoops or now Lincoln Riley, one of the guarantees in college football is that Oklahoma football is going to be fun and one of the best teams in the country. With seven National Championships, seven Heisman Trophy winners and four College Football Playoff appearances in program history, that all holds true.

But among the many things that make Oklahoma football great has been the unbelievable amount of talent that has passed through Norman. The offensive minds at the helm of the Sooners have helped the cause but the players have gone out and executed at the highest and most exciting levels we’ve ever seen.

So if we’re trying to cut it down to a Mount Rushmore of the modern era (since 1980) for Oklahoma football, it’s exceptionally difficult. We’ve got our top four players, however, and they sit above the rest of the greats who have suited up for the Sooners in the last 40 years.

First, though, we need to shout out some honorable mentions that would make the top four for many other programs but just miss out for Oklahoma.

Had Kyler Murray spent more than one year as the starter for Oklahoma, he’d likely have cracked the top four. The eventual No. 1 overall pick was electric as he won the 2018 Heisman Trophy on the back of setting Sooners a record for total offense (5,362 yards) and notching the second-most touchdowns in a single season (54) while leading the team to the College Football Playoff.

Sam Bradford hit the ground running in 2007 when he took over as the Oklahoma starting quarterback. However, his Heisman-winning 2008 season is one of the best single-season passing efforts in college football history with 4,720 yards and 50 touchdowns. He was a tough omission but he just misses the cut, largely due to his injury-shortened final season in Norman.

There have been more naturally gifted receivers in Norman than Ryan Broyles but none have been as consistently dominant and productive. A four-year starter, Broyles is the Oklahoma football career leader in receiving yards (4,586) and receiving touchdowns (45). He was the model of a player doing it well and doing so for a long time in college.