The Oklahoma Sooners have had the greatest run of quarterback play in college football over the last 25 years. No other team comes close. With four Heisman trophies, several more finalists for the award, passing records, historic offenses, a national title, and a number of BCS title game and College Football Playoff appearances, the Sooners have been the standard for quarterback play in the greatest sport on planet Earth.
OU is simply put, QBU.
If all of the accolades weren’t enough to settle it, ESPN’s Bill Connelly released his list of the top 90 quarterbacks (ESPN+) in college football since 2000, and seven Oklahoma Sooners made the list. That number doesn’t include Josh Heupel, who didn’t make the list, but was a Heisman finalist in 2000 and helped usher in the Air Raid offense into modern college football vernacular. It also doesn’t include Caleb Williams, who spent just one season with the Sooners before transferring to follow Lincoln Riley to the USC Trojans.
How incredible has Oklahoma’s run at quarterback been?
- Oklahoma is the only team with two quarterbacks in the top 10, three in the top 15, and five in the top 30. All seven players mentioned were ranked in the top 45 of Bill Connelly’s rankings.
- Clemson and Texas are the only other programs with two quarterbacks in the top 15.
- Alabama, USC, and Oregon had three players in the top 30. But each of those teams includes a transfer that spent significant time at Oklahoma as well.
Here’s a look at the Oklahoma Sooners to land in Bill Connelly’s ranking of the top 90 college football quarterbacks since 2000.
44. Landry Jones
Landry Jones finished his Oklahoma career as the all-time leading passer. He won a Big 12 title in 2010 and a share of the Big 12 championship in 2012. He threw for over 4,000 yards three times and is fourth all-time in career passing yards.
Here’s a complete list of QBs who spent their entire careers playing for power-conference teams and threw for more yards than Jones:
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It was hard to appreciate Jones’ steady excellence in real time, but by the time he had graduated he had put together a four-year statistical résumé that, even in the near-decade that has followed, no one has surpassed. – Connelly, ESPN
Notable quarterbacks ahead of Landry Jones: Ken Dorsey, Stetson Bennett, and Mac Jones.
37. Jason White
Though it was as low start to his career, joining the Sooners in 1999, Jason White closed his career with two fantastic seasons, leading the Sooners to back-to-back BCS Championship game appearances in 2003 and 2004. Though the Sooners came up short, he had terrific campaigns, winning the Heisman in 2003 and finishing third in the voting in 2004.
BCS title game losses dampened White’s legacy a bit, but his evolution from athletic dual-threat to statuesque ball-distributor following knee injuries was awe-inspiring. He didn’t win one Heisman vote and finish third in another by accident. – Connelly, ESPN
Notable quarterbacks ahead of Jason White: Michael Penix Jr.. Rex Grossman, and Colin Kaepernick.
28. Jalen Hurts
Jalen Hurts spent just one season in Norman, but he was phenomenal for the Sooners. He led Oklahoma to the Big 12 title in 2019 and will always be remembered for orchestrating the Sooners remarkable comeback win over the Baylor Bears in Waco. He finished second in the Heisman to Joe Burrow and was drafted in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. He’s the only Oklahoma quarterback to reach the Super Bowl, let alone win it. The former Alabama and Oklahoma quarterback provided incredible leadership and a steely demeanor during that 2019 season to lead the Sooners.
Hurts was a starter for three years, averaged 2,900 passing yards and 1,036 rushing yards per season and led three CFP bids; as a backup to Tua Tagovailoa in 2018, he helped to save a CFP bid as well. He was the SEC’s offensive player of the year as a freshman and Heisman runner-up as a senior. What a career. – Connelly, ESPN
Notable quarterbacks ahead of Jalen Hurts: Case Keenum, Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers.
24. Dillon Gabriel
Dillon Gabriel may not have finished his career at Oklahoma but he put his stamp on the program in the Brent Venables era. A 10-2 season in 2023 (Gabriel didn’t play in the bowl game), Gabriel led Oklahoma to a dramatic win over Texas in the Red River Showdown and had a record-setting eight touchdown day against West Virginia. His experience and leadership played a huge role in keeping the program afloat amid the transition from Lincoln Riley to Venables. Gabriel finished his career second all-time in career passing yards after his time with UCF, Oklahoma, and Oregon.
Gabriel also took advantage of the 2020 bonus eligibility year to become the No. 2 passer of all time. He threw for more than 7,000 yards at UCF and nearly 7,000 at OU before leading Oregon to an unbeaten regular season and the No. 1 seed in the first 12-team CFP as a senior. Bonus year or not … just look at those ridiculous numbers above! – Connelly, ESPN
Notable quarterbacks ahead of Dillon Gabriel: C.J. Stroud, Tua Tagavailoa, and Caleb Williams.
15. Sam Bradford
There have been a lot of players that played in the Air-Raid offense. But few players have run it as productively as Sam Bradford. Oklahoma’s 2008 season is one of the best offensive seasons in college football history. That year, Bradford threw for 4,720 yards, 50 touchdowns, and just eight interceptions. Oklahoma scored 60 or more in five straight games to end the season, including the Big 12 championship win over No. 1 Missouri. Over that stretch, Bradford averaged 337.8 passing yards per game and threw 19 touchdowns to just one interception. Bradford went on to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.
The 2008 OU offense was, at the time, the best spread attack in history. Bradford threw for 4,720 yards and 50 TDs, and the Sooners scored at least 58 points in six consecutive Big 12 games that year. Only a 2009 injury (and a couple of goal-line failures in the 2008 national title game) kept him out of a potential top-10 spot here. – Connelly, ESPN
Notable quarterbacks ahead of Sam Bradford: Colt McCoy, Johnny Manziel, and Kellen Moore.
7. Kyler Murray
Few players in the history of college football were as mesmerizing as Kyler Murray. He was Michael Vick, but with a better arm. He was must-see television every time he stepped on the field. Murray electrified with his legs first as Baker Mayfield’s backup in 2017 and then when he took the reigns in 2018. He led Oklahoma to a Big 12 title win over Texas, and despite a slow start in the Sooners’ playoff game against Alabama, Murray rallied the Sooners to have a shot in the second half. He had just one season as a starter for the Sooners, but in that one year, Murray combined for more than 5,300 total yards and 54 touchdowns. Murray was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft after winning the Heisman in 20108. Though other former Sooner quarterbacks may have had better numbers or more accolades, Murray might have been the best of them all.
Murray was a first-round draft pick in baseball but decided to play college football one last season in 2018. We were all better off for it. As Baker Mayfield’s OU successor, he threw for 4,361, rushed for 1,478 more and posted 54 combined TDs. IN ONE YEAR. And then he became a first-rounder in another draft. – Connelly, ESPN
Notable quarterbacks ahead of Kyler Murray: Tim Tebow, Joe Burrow, and DeShaun Watson.
1. Baker Mayfield
Baker Mayfield won a Heisman Trophy, took Oklahoma to the College Football Playoff, won three Big 12 titles, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, and is currently No. 11 all-time in career passing yards. Now Mayfield’s experiencing a resurgence with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after back-to-back playoff appearances.
Newton, Young and Burrow had the best seasons. Mayfield had the best career.
It began with him walking on at Texas Tech, quickly winning the starting job and throwing for 413 yards in his debut. He lost his job to injury, then traded up, landing at OU. The Sooners hadn’t won an outright conference title since 2010, but he led them to three in a row, with three top-five finishes and two CFP bids. His storybook career ended with him throwing and rushing for 4,938 yards and 48 TDs, winning the Heisman and bringing OU to within an eyelash of the national title game. He was so good that, despite non-prototypical size, the Cleveland Browns couldn’t resist making him the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft. – Connelly, ESPN
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