16 college football greats who’d lead their former team to the 2017 title
By Zach Bigalke
Last year Oklahoma went 11-2, narrowly missing out on the College Football Playoff. Instead they took down Auburn by two scores in the Sugar Bowl to cap their Big 12 title season. The Sooners bring back plenty of talent, especially on offense. Their biggest loss is not a player but head coach Bob Stoops, who suddenly retired this spring after 19 seasons in Norman.
Offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley took over for Stoops. If it were up to Riley, perhaps he would call upon someone like Adrian Peterson or Billy Sims to replace Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon. With a veteran line and Baker Mayfield returning, though, the new coach has little to worry about on that side of the ball. The bigger questions come on defense, where three-year starting inside linebacker Jordan Lewis has moved on to the NFL.
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What if Riley could call upon Oklahoma’s most destructive inside linebacker in school history? Brian Bosworth twice received unanimous All-America selections for the Sooners, helping them win the 1985 national title. He was also the only player ever to win the Butkus Award twice. Though he was brash and opinionated, Bosworth would undoubtedly push the current Sooner defense to the next level.