Tales from the Oklahoma Sooner Sideline

by Barry Switzer

  “I’m sitting there waiting for Steve’s flight to arrive and suddenly they announce it’s going to Wichita instead,” said OU assistant coach Jerry Pettibone. “I scrambled around and finally got someone in the Wichita airport to give Steve a message with my phone number. He called me and was wondering what the heck he was going to do.”

  Later that night, the passengers were loaded onto a bus bound for Norman, and sometime around 1 a.m. it finally pulled into town.

  “I was so worried that Steve’s whole trip was ruined, but he got off the bus laughing and talking to a U.S. sailor who had just spent the last three hours explaining how much he loved OU football and how great everything in Oklahoma was,” said Pettibone. “He basically recruited Steve to OU for us.”

  A few weeks later, Rhodes committed to the Sooners, and he eventually went on to become a four-year starter.

  The Congressman

  The tiny football hamlet of Eufaula, Oklahoma, had already turned out three of the greatest defensive players (the Selmon brothers) in OU history when J. C. Watts decided to sign with the Sooners in 1976.

  Watts, following in the footsteps of option quarterback Thomas Lott, would eventually make Eufaula proud with his work in the wishbone. But it would first take a little extra persuading by Barry Switzer and company after Watts briefly left the team following his freshman year.

  “He wanted to quit and transfer to another school because he just wasn’t happy,” said Switzer. “He had to wait his turn behind Thomas, and that was frustrating for him. But you have to be tolerant and try to understand what he’s going through.”

  Once Watts decided to stick around, he demonstrated his talent for making the big play in OU’s option attack. In his 25 starts, the Sooners won 22 times.

  After enjoying a highly successful career in the Canadian Football League, Watts returned to Oklahoma, where he was elected to Congress.

  J.C Watts. Photo courtesy of the University of Oklahoma

  No Exposure Isn't So Bad

  During Barry Switzer’s first three seasons at the Oklahoma helm, his Sooners were dubbed by Sports Illustrated as “the best team you’ll never see.”

  The reason was probation. NCAA sanctions prohibited the Sooners from appearing on television from November 23, 1973 to January 1, 1976. And OU did not appear in a bowl game from December 31, 1972 until January 1, 1976.

  During that period, the Sooners went 32-1-1 and won a pair of national titles.

  From Obscurity to the Outland

  There weren’t many 6-foot-4, 260-pound players quick and agile enough to play Division-I linebacker in the mid-1970s. But that was the position Greg Roberts was slated to play when the Sooners recruited him out of Nacogdoches, Texas, in 1974.

  It became clear during fall practice that Roberts had a great forward burst, but lacked the lateral speed and instincts to play linebacker. After trying him there, the OU coaching staff moved him to defensive line, still with less than impressive results.

  Finally during a team meeting, coach Barry Switzer decided to send Roberts to the offensive side of the ball. It was exactly what the big man needed, as his explosive first step helped earn him All-America honors twice as a guard. And in 1978, the Sooner senior picked up the Outland Trophy, which annually goes to the top offensive lineman in the country.

  Tell Us How You Really Feel

  Barry Switzer always held his press conference on Tuesday, to talk about the previous weekend’s game and the upcoming opponent. Members of the media would ask questions on a broad range of topics. Well, Switzer always dreaded the pre-Kansas State week because the Wildcats were traditionally so bad that he had a hard time keeping his team focused.

  Typically during the press conference, someone would ask Switzer to talk about K-State and what kind of game plan he expected to see from them. And typically, the Sooner skipper would give the same old canned comments.

  During one stretch in the 1980s, OU beat the Wildcats four straight times by the combined score of 226-50. In the middle of that run, Switzer was asked at his Tuesday luncheon prior to the annual Kansas State game what he thought about the Wildcats. He paused for a moment and simply replied, “Kansas State is Kansas State. What else can I say?”

  That about covers it.

  Party Time

  During spring football practice in 1975, the OU coaches had been pushing the team pretty hard when they decided to give the players the weekend off. Hearing the good news prior to Friday practice, Chez Evans and several of his black teammates decided to throw a big party.

  They took up a collection of money and charged Evans with purchasing the food and drinks. The plan was for Evans to make up a story about being sick so he could miss practice that afternoon and set up the party with the rest of their friends.

  Evans was to go to team trainer Ken Rawlinson and relay the sick story, then leave. But before he could execute his plan, assistant coach Gene Hochevar overheard everything and put his own plan into motion.

  “I basically told Ken to check Chez out and find something wrong so he’d think twice about skipping practice the next time,” said Hochevar.

  When Evans arrived with the tale of headache and an upset stomach, Rawlinson went to work, checking his patient’s temperature and everything else. After a few minutes, he explained to Evans that he was really sick and he would have to be quarantined in the infirmary.

  There was nothing Evans could do. By the time he was released from the infirmary on Monday morning, his teammates figured Evans had taken the money quit the team and left town. It took plenty of explaining on his part to get back in good graces.

  “When I told Chez what I’d done, he thought that was pretty cold-blooded. But we laughed about it a lot and he never showed up sick to practice again,” Hochevar added.

  Hey, Cab Driver

  The anticipation was excruciating. The flight from Los Angeles to Hawaii seemed like it would never end. And even when it did, there was no immediate relief.

  Barry Switzer’s patience was being put to the ultimate test as he hurried around the Honolulu airport trying to find the answer to the $1 million question: Who won the Associated Press football poll?

  The bowl season had ended the previous evening with Switzer’s Oklahoma squad sitting at home, part of the national viewing audience. The Sooners were on probation and not eligible for postseason play or votes in the UPI national poll.

  The AP vote, due out that day, was the only one that mattered. Unfortunately, Switzer couldn’t find anyone who had heard the news.

  “I’m wandering around the airport trying to find a paper, but they were all early editions. No AP results,” said Switzer, whose 11-0 Sooners were the lone undefeated team in the country.

  Switzer was in town to coach the annual Hula Bowl, but his mind was on the fortunes of his boys back in Norman.

  “We were undefeated and already ranked number one, but Ireally didn’t know what the outcome [of the voting] would be after the bowl games,” he said.

  It had been almost two decades since Oklahoma last won a national title, but Switzer could almost taste it. He finally ran into a taxi driver who was talking football with some of his buddies—and he popped the question.

  “The guy tells me Oklahoma was number one in the AP poll. So there I am standing in the airport in Honolulu celebrating our national championship with some taxi driver I didn’t even know,” smiled Switzer.

  The Tackle

  Mention those two simple words and Oklahoma fans will quickly describe the hit Sooner safety Scott Hill put on Pittsburgh’s Tony Dorsett during their national showdown in 1975. While the No. 1 Sooners beat the 15th-ranked Panthers 46-10 that day, it’s the flying smash Hill applied to Dorsett that people remember.

  The hit came midway through the second quarter with OU holding a 20-0 lead. Pitt was facing fourth and one when Dorsett got the ball on an option right. Before he had time to think about which way to cut, Hill hurdled a blocker and buried him three yards deep in t
he backfield.

  “It was more instinct than anything, really. I guess that’s what you call reckless abandon,” said Hill. “I think that play helped take the steam out of them. Dorsett was pretty much done after that and we put it away.”

  While Dorsett was destined to win the Heisman Trophy the following season, his afternoon in Norman was forgettable. He finished with 12 carries for 17 yards and left in the second half after linebackers Bill Dalke and Jimbo Elrod sandwiched him in the backfield again.

  But it was “the tackle” that fans remember most.

  “That play definitely defined my career,” added Hill.

  Answered Prayer

  A season removed from winning its second straight national title, Oklahoma was in rebound mode as it approached the stretch run of the 1976 campaign. The Sooners had suffered consecutive losses (Oklahoma State and Colorado) for the first time since 1970 and hoped wins against Kansas State and Missouri would give them some momentum going into their showdown with Nebraska at Lincoln.

  As OU prepared to take the field that November day, coach Barry Switzer gathered his team around and asked senior safety Scott Hill to deliver a word of prayer.

  “God keep us all healthy and don’t let the best team win,” said Hill.

  The answer came in the form of a 20-17 Sooner victory.

  Collect Call

  Greg Pruitt was long gone and Joe Washington would be headed for the NFL soon, meaning Barry Switzer’s Sooners would be minus a feature back in their wishbone attack. Players like Elvis Peacock, Kenny King and Horace Ivory could fill the void in the meantime, but Switzer desperately wanted a kid named Billy Sims out of Hooks, Texas.

  Despite his Class A pedigree, Sims possessed the talent to carry an entire offense, and college coaches were lining up at his door by the dozens. Switzer was at the front of the line. He got in on Sims early, and they developed a strong relationship.

  The Sooners were playing Colorado during the 1974 season and well on their way to a 49-14 victory by halftime. During the intermission, knowing that Sims was listening to the game on the radio, Switzer called him at the gas station where he worked.

  “He was really shocked when I called him,” laughed Switzer. “I probably worked Billy harder than any recruit I ever had. I felt he was that good.”

  Billy Sims. Photo courtesy of the University of Oklahoma

  Things like that call tilted the scale in Switzer’s favor, and Sims signed with Oklahoma. Slowed by injuries early in his career, Sims eventually blossomed into the player everyone expected. He won the Heisman Trophy as a junior when he set a Big Eight single-season rushing record with 1,762 yards on 231 carries.

  CHAPTER SIX

  The 1980s

  How’s It Going, Dick?

  DURING THE 1980 SEASON, Oklahoma was scheduled to play a rare November non-conference game against No. 6 North Carolina at Memorial Stadium. The I6th-ranked Sooners had already lost twice, to Stanford and Texas, by the time the undefeated Tar Heels hit town.

  Lawrence Taylor spearheaded a UNC defense that was ranked first in the country against the run, and Amos Lawrence was one of the ACC’s top tailbacks. The Tar Heels were loaded, and they fully expected to waltz into Norman and beat the Sooners.

  North Carolina was going through workouts at the stadium the day before the game, and OU coach Barry Switzer walked down to introduce himself to his Tar Heel counterpart.

  “I walked up to Coach Crum and said, ‘Hey Denny, it’s great to have you here,”’ explained Switzer. “When I said that I noticed that he just stared at me, didn’t smile or anything. I stood there and talked about the game, saying Denny this and Denny that. I didn’t think any more about it.”

  Later, when Switzer retreated to the OU coaches’ offices, he told his staff how quiet Coach Crum was and how unfriendly he seemed.

  “I just figured he was ready to play, and I told my guys we’d better play, because North Carolina meant business,” said Switzer.

  Game day arrived and Switzer found himself near midfield talking to Coach Crum for a second time. OU’s skipper talked about the weather and how he hoped both teams played well and no one got injured—again, without much response from Crum.

  At the end of the contest, after Oklahoma had completely dismantled the Tar Heels en route to a 41-7 win, Switzer made his way over to Crum and was reaching out for the traditional postgame handshake. But instead of offering up his hand, Crum walked away saying, “The name’s not Denny, it’s Dick.”

  “I remember watching the film of that, and it showed me standing there stunned. And then I realized what I’d been doing for two days—I’d been calling him Denny the whole time,” added Switzer, who had Louisville basketball coach Denny Crum on his mind. “I went upstairs and told my staff what I’d been doing and they all laughed and said, ‘Don’t worry, Coach, North Carolina is nothing but a basketball school anyway.’”

  Man Among Boys

  Asked once whom he felt was the toughest, most physically capable freshman player he remembered having at Oklahoma, Barry Switzer hesitated for a moment and offered the following:

  “We’ve had a lot of great freshman players here, going way back to Bud Wilkinson’s days, but as far as being physically and mentally tough and mature, I’d have to say Lydell Carr. He was one tough son of a bitch, a complete stallion from the day he arrived on campus.”

  Carr, from Enid, Oklahoma, was pure muscle from head to toe, cut like an anvil from the waist up. He started each of his four years as fullback for Switzer’s Sooners from 1984-87.

  Illegal Procedure and the Ponies

  Oklahoma fans will probably never forget the untimely trip the Sooner Schooner made during the 1985 Orange Bowl. It wound up costing the Sooners three points and possibly a victory over PAC-10 power Washington.

  “The whole thing was just strange, the way it all played out,” said OU kicker Tim Lashar.

  With the game tied 14-14 early in the fourth quarter, the Sooners lined up for what promised to be a go-ahead 22-yard field goal. But here’s the twist: OU lineman Mark Hutson was checking in and out of the game wearing jerseys 79 and 90, depending on whether he lined up on the interior or at tight end. Every time he entered the game with a different number, he was required to check in with officials. But he failed to do so on the field goal attempt.

  Lashar easily hit the short field goal, but officials flagged Hutson for illegal substitution.

  “They threw the flag into the middle of the line, so nobody saw it. We all ran to the sideline thinking the kick was good, and the Schooner made its run onto the field like it did every time we scored,” explained Lashar.

  By the time the Sooners realized they had to replay the down, the officials had tacked a 15-yard penalty on the Schooner for coming onto the field. Lashar wound up trying a 42-yard field goal that Washington blocked.

  “I think that deflated us to a point, but we still managed to come back and take a 17-14 lead,” added Lashar. “Unfortunately, the wheels pretty much came off for us after that, and Washington really played well the last few minutes.”

  Washington won the contest 28-17, canceling any planned celebration in the stables that night.

  Big Marcus

  Described by Barry Switzer as “the most talented player, the most hyped player the University of Oklahoma ever recruited,” Marcus Dupree fashioned his legend as a Sooner in a total of 17 games.

  The Philadelphia, Mississippi, product was a special blend of power and speed. His 230-pound frame covered ground like a runaway freight train, and he flourished in the latter part of his freshman season after OU switched from the wishbone to the I formation.

  “When you talk about pure running talent, making people miss, stopping and starting, stepping sideways—Marcus Dupree could do it all,” said Barry Switzer.

  But after capping his rookie year with a 246-yard rushing performance in the 1983 Fiesta Bowl, Dupree began struggling with his weight and was still struggling to adjust to college life. Ju
st five games into his sophomore season, after being held to 50 yards in a loss to Texas, he returned home to Mississippi and never played another game for the Sooners.

  “He might have been the best ever. But we’ll never know,” said Switzer. “It will always be the untold story, and that’s a shame.”

  Live Wire

  For years, Howard Newman was the man behind the OU coach’s television show. He was always coming up with ideas to make the show more interesting and one week he decided to “mic” an OU assistant coach in order to give fans a feel for what goes on on the sideline during a game.

  After some debate, Newman agreed that longtime Barry Switzer staffer Bobby Proctor would be their man. During pregame, they wired Proctor for sound and then sent him boldly into the fray.

  Fortunately, Proctor wasn’t being broadcast live that day as the Sooners battled Kansas State in Manhattan. By the time the Sooners dashed back into the halftime locker room they were trailing 18-3, and Proctor had used every expletive in the book.

  “Nothing I said seemed to light a fire under us, so I had to break out a few bad words,” admitted Proctor. “I saw Howard standing over to the side and I told him they needed to take the wire off of me because to that point I hadn’t given them a single word they could use. And I wasn’t sure if it was going to get any better in the second half.”

  Newman talked the coach into keeping the wire on, and it turned out just fine, as the Sooners rallied to win 28-21.

  Hot Water Cornbread

  Oklahoma had switched from the wishbone to the I formation prior to the 1982 season, and it looked as if Barry Switzer was expanding his offensive philosophy to include more of an aerial game. When the 1983 recruiting season kicked in, pass catchers were critical to Switzer’s want list.

  Keith Jackson was at the top of that list.

  “I remember when Coach Switzer walked in the door at our house and sat down on the couch. I was thinking we were about to hear all of this football gibberish, and instead he leaned back and said, ‘Gladys, can you make hot water cornbread?”’ described Jackson. “He and my mother carried on about hot water cornbread, beans and greens, and never talked about football once.”