Pair of Oklahoma Sooners legends named among best college football players of the 2000s but surprisingly left off other worthy players

The Oklahoma Sooners have a storied history of talented players, with the second-most Heisman trophy winners and 167 First-Team All-Americans. Great players come to Oklahoma to join that tradition, with the most recent being linebacker Danny Stutsman, who was named a Consensus All-American this past season. 

Because of that, it's difficult to rank just who the best players in Oklahoma history are, especially when you try to compare them to others across the country. 

The Athletic attempted to do just that, ranking the 25 best players in college football in the 2000s, and the Sooners placed two familiar names on the list, with defensive back Roy Williams and quarterback Baker Mayfield at 18th and 14th, respectively. 

Roy Williams:

"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.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."

Baker Mayfield

"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. 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."

While Mayfield feels way too low, the lack of a national championship win (Lincoln Riley should still be embarrassed for that Rose Bowl loss) understandably drops him below other quarterbacks like Joe Burrow, Cam Newton, and Marcus Mariota.

However, I am surprised that a few other Sooners didn't make it on the list. Kyler Murray is one of the most electric playmakers in college football history and his 2018 Heisman Trophy-winning season ranks ninth all-time in total single-season yardage. 

Sam Bradford orchestrated one of the greatest offenses of all time on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy in 2008 as well before becoming the number-one overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. 

Wide receiver Ryan Broyles set the NCAA record for career receptions on his way to a two-time Consensus All-American, and he still sits third all-time in receiving yardage and sixth in receiving touchdowns. With all of those accolades, it's a little surprising he didn't make it either.

Still, it's nice to see several Sooners getting their well-earned recognition.