Oklahoma showed up all over ESPN’s all-time jersey number rankings, with four Sooners landing at the top of their numbers and 12 more finishing as runners-up in the panel’s list of the best college players to ever wear 0 through 99.
The four Oklahoma players ESPN selected as the greatest at their numbers were Baker Mayfield at No. 6, Caleb Williams at No.
13, Tommy McDonald at No. 25 and Ricky Dixon at No. 29.
Together, they span four different decades of Sooners football and give Oklahoma a strong footprint in a study that tried to sort college history by jersey number.
Mayfield’s Oklahoma run from 2015 to 2017 made him the choice at No. 6.
After transferring from Texas Tech, he helped lead the Sooners to College Football Playoff trips in 2015 and 2017. His career numbers at OU were massive: second in FBS history in passing efficiency rating at 175.4, third in passing yards per attempt at 9.7, fourth in career touchdowns with 131 and fifth in total offense with 15,690.
Williams is a little different case, since he finished at USC and won the Heisman Trophy in 2022 in his final season. But ESPN credited his Oklahoma start under Lincoln Riley, where he began his college career in 2021 and set freshman records with 1,912 passing yards and 21 touchdowns.
McDonald was a two-time All-American halfback who played on Bud Wilkinson’s national championship teams in 1955 and 1956. Oklahoma never lost with him in the lineup, going 31-0 over his three seasons. That stretch also came during the Sooners’ record 47-game winning streak, and McDonald capped 1956 by winning the Maxwell Award as the nation’s most outstanding college player.
Dixon claimed the No. 29 spot after a standout career from 1984 to 1987 under Barry Switzer. He finished with 170 total tackles and 17 interceptions, just one short of the school record.
His nine interceptions in 1987 remain the program’s single-season record, and Oklahoma went 42-5-1 during his four years, including the 1986 Orange Bowl win over No. 1 Penn State that delivered the Sooners’ sixth national championship.
Oklahoma’s presence was only part of the broader picture. Ohio State led all schools with nine players represented among the top 100 jersey numbers.
USC followed with six, while Miami and Notre Dame each had five. Oklahoma, Nebraska, Minnesota and Pittsburgh each had four.
The Sooners also had a long list of players who finished just behind ESPN’s No. 1 picks for their numbers. The 12 runners-up were Kyler Murray at No.
1, Jason White at No. 18, Adrian Peterson at No.
28, Greg Pruitt at No. 30, Billy Vessels at No.
35, Steve Owens at No. 36, Roy Williams at No.
38, Rod Shoate at No. 43, Jerry Tubbs at No.
53, Ryan Broyles at No. 85, Tony Casillas at No. 92 and Lee Roy Selmon at No.
ESPN’s choices ahead of those Oklahoma standouts were Larry Fitzgerald at No. 1, Archie Manning at No.
18, Marshall Faulk at No. 28, Mike Rozier at No.
30, Doc Blanchard at No. 35, Chris Spielman at No.
36, George Rogers at No. 38, Tony Polamalu at No.
43, Randy Gradishar at No. 53, Jim Seymour at No.
85, Reggie White at No. 92 and Ndamukong at No. 93.
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