There are a lot of passionate Dallas Cowboy fans in the state of Oklahoma. AT&T Stadium is, after all, closer to the Oklahoma border than it is to most major cities in Texas. But even with the state being firmly established as Cowboys country, there still might be one football team that barely inches them out in terms of state loyalty and passion: the Oklahoma Sooners.
As soon as last season came to a close, concluding Jason Garrett's contract as head coach, there was speculation that the Cowboys would try to lure away Oklahoma's young and accomplished head coach, Lincoln Riley. Considered a "quarterback whisperer" who coached Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, and Jalen Hurts, the notion of Riley getting a shot at working with Dak Prescott was certainly intriguing to some.
Of course, the Cowboys instead decided to go with an accomplished NFL veteran coach in Mike McCarthy. But McCarthy and his mostly new coaching staff – the first new coaching regime in Dallas in over a decade – decided to add four recent and former Sooners to the roster of his new team.
While we'll never know the extent to which the Cowboys reached out to or even considered hiring Riley, Cowboys VP of player personnel Will McClay hinted at a possible relationship between the Cowboys and Sooners staffs when he discussed the decision to draft All-American wide receiver CeeDee Lamb with the No. 17 overall pick. "We have a lot of connections and people that we know at Oklahoma, so through the course of the work we had done leading up to the draft and the Combine we felt had good information on him," McClay said.
Lamb joining the Cowboys was perhaps the splashiest selection in the entire draft. But the Cowboys also used their third round pick on Neville Gallimore a four-year defensive tackle at Oklahoma who Dallas will likely expect to grow into a starting role in his first few years. But he'll get to learn from a six-time Pro Bowler in Gerald McCoy, who was signed in free agency. Of course, McCoy was a star standout at Oklahoma before being the No. 3 overall pick in the 2010 draft by the Bucs.
Dallas also added one of Oklahoma's most intriguing players from last decade in free agency in tight end Blake Bell. A converted quarterback, Bell threw, caught, and rushed for touchdowns during his career at Oklahoma. Bell's immediate role with the Cowboys will be as a tight end, but Sooner fans are likely eager to see him utilized in a variety of different packages among McCarthy's system.
Perhaps these four acquisitions simply represent a series of coincidences, but Oklahoma is a nearby program that knows something about sustained success, so it shouldn't be a surprise that the Cowboys are looking at players that developed about 200 miles to the north.
So it got us thinking to the best OU players in Cowboys history. There have been some first-round picks, some Pro Bowlers and even some in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. So let's look at the very best Sooners to wear the star.
Before we get to the Top 10, here are some honorable mentions:
- Manuel Johnson, Wide Receiver, Dallas Cowboy in 2009: Johnson started 26 games in his four seasons as a Sooner and recorded 17 touchdowns. The Cowboys drafted him in the seventh round in 2009, but ultimately was assigned to the practice squad in favor of Kevin Ogletree. He was briefly promoted to the active roster in December and appeared in two games.
- Derrick Shepard, Wide Receiver, Dallas Cowboy 1989-1991: Shepard walked on to the Sooners football team as a freshman and turned that opportunity into a four-year NFL career. He signed with the Cowboys after an injury sustained to Michael Irvin. He registered a 92-yard, one-touchdown
- Wendell Davis, Cornerback, Dallas Cowboy 1996-1999: After two redshirted years at Oklahoma, Davis was drafted in the sixth round by the Cowboys where he was a valuable special teams player before a knee injury ended his third season in Dallas before it started.
- Joe Bowden, Linebacker, Dallas Cowboy in 2000: A Dallas native, Bowden was an All-American in his senior season at Oklahoma. The Cowboys signed Bowden in 2000 to provide linebacker depth, and Bowden played in all 16 games, registering 46 tackles.
- Remi Ayodele, Defensive Tackle, Dallas Cowboy in 2007: Ayodele went undrafted out of Oklahoma and was eventually signed by the Cowboys and assigned to NFL Europa. The next season he joined the Cowboys to provide depth in the wake of an injury to Jay Ratliff.
Under Mike McCarthy, the Cowboys have already tapped into a well of players who developed at Oklahoma. It got us thinking to the best Sooners in franchise history.
Scott Case, Safety, Dallas Cowboy in 1995: Case set Oklahoma's single season record for interceptions with eight his senior season. He came to Dallas at the end of his career for one season, but played a vital part in the Cowboys Super Bowl XXX victory with a few crucial and timely tackles.
James Hanna, Tight End, Dallas Cowboy 2012-2017: Showing promising potential at Oklahoma, Hanna earned the intrigue of the Cowboys, who used a sixth-round draft pick on him in 2012 hoping he might someday replace Jason Witten. He became a proven blocker and showed promise as a receiver, but Witten ultimately outlasted Hanna's time in Dallas, and knee injuries cut Hanna's career short.
Tommy McDonald, Wide Receiver, Dallas Cowboy 1967: McDonald was a running back at Oklahoma before converting to wide receiver in the NFL. His most significant NFL years were with the Philadelphia Eagles, but in his lone season in Dallas in 1967 produced 612 yards and two touchdowns.
Jerry Tubbs, Linebacker, Dallas Cowboy 1960-1967: Tubbs spent three varsity seasons at Oklahoma. They went 31-0 in that time. In 1960 he became the first Dallas Cowboy to start at middle linebacker in franchise history. He spent the next 29 seasons in Dallas as a player and coach.
Tony Casillas, Defensive Tackle, Dallas Cowboy 1991-1993: Casillas became the second hispanic to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame for his time with the Sooners. While Casillas' time in Dallas was short, it was eventful. He was the starting defensive tackle on the best defense in the league and won back-to-back Super Bowls. He briefly returned to the Cowboys in 1996 where he would retire.
Randy Hughes, Safety, Dallas Cowboy 1975-1980: Hughes recorded 14 interceptions at Oklahoma before being drafted by Dallas. In Super Bowl XII, he registered five tackles, an interception, and two fumble recoveries.
Lance Rentzel, Wide Receiver, Dallas Cowboy 1967-1970: Rentzel mostly played running back at Oklahoma but was a dominant receiver upon joining the Cowboys in 1967 when he led the team in receptions, including a 13-reception, 223-yard performance against Washington. He also scored a fourth quarter touchdown in the infamous "Ice Bowl."
DeMarco Murray, Running Back, Dallas Cowboy 2011-2014: Murray was dominantly productive at Oklahoma where he recorded 3,685 yards and 63 total touchdowns. He was drafted by Dallas as the Cowboys were putting together the league's best offensive line and the offense was built around Murray's production. In 2013 he led the league in rushing and set the Cowboys' all-time single season rushing record with 12 games of over 100 yards rushing.
Ralph Neely, Offensive Tackle, Dallas Cowboys 1965-1977: Neely was ineligible for the Sooners' 1965 Gator Bowl due to signing on with a professional team, but he would immediately begin a successful career with the Cowboys, making the All-Rookie team and being selected as an All Pro player for the next four seasons. He won two Super Bowls in Dallas.
Roy Williams, Safety, Dallas Cowboy 2002-2008: At Oklahoma, Williams won the Jim Thorpe Award awarded to the best defensive back in the nation. The Cowboys would draft him with the eighth overall pick in 2002 where he'd go on to be one of the most feared safeties in the NFL. He was a five-time Pro Bowler, but was also criticized for his repeated use of dangerously using a runners' horse collars to bring them down, which led to an NFL rule change often associated with Williams.
