Berry Tramel, Sports columnist

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Sims sits atop the list, but it could be Peterson after this season

By Berry Tramel
Published: July 10, 2006

We had a little fun last week. The Oklahoman polled five OU football historians, plus your trusty scribe here, on the top 10 running backs in Sooner history.

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Expert panel

No running back prompted such a wide difference of opinion as Adrian Peterson.

One voter ranked Peterson third. Two rated Peterson fourth. Another placed Peterson ninth. Two did not list Peterson, apparently wishing to let his career settle before declaring his place in history.

I don’t know for sure where Peterson belongs. But I know where he’s going.

To the top.

Come December, Adrian Peterson likely will be the greatest Sooner running back ever, and it’s possible there won’t be a debate.

2006 almost surely will be Peterson’s last rodeo. The NFL beckons, and Peterson will go early, very early, on draft day. Maybe even at high noon as the first overall pick.

But one more year might be all Peterson needs. He already is the No. 6 career rusher in OU history. Peterson has played only two Sooner seasons, but that’s 24 games worth, one fewer than the entire career of Billy Vessels, who was pegged OU’s greatest runner by four of our historians.

I did a top-10 list for Sooner Spectator magazine earlier this year, and I didn’t have Vessels No. 1. I went with a different Heisman Trophy winner, and frankly, it was the easiest decision of making the top 10.

Billy Sims is OU’s greatest running back by virtually every method of analysis:

  • Statistical. Sims holds the OU career rushing record of 4,118 yards, plus the second-best and fifth-best single-season totals.

    And he did it in fewer carries than his chief competitors. Joe Washington, second on the all-time rushing list, had 82 more carries than did Sims. Quentin Griffin, third on the list, had 151 more carries. Steve Owens, fourth on the list, had 365 more carries.

  • Honors. Sims won the 1978 Heisman and finished second in the ’79 Heisman race to USC’s Charles White.

    The only other Sooner runner to get close to Sims’ Heisman finishes is Pruitt, who was third and second (1971-72).

    The only players in college football history with better Heisman portfolios are Ohio State’s Archie Griffin, the only two-time winner, and the Army duo of Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard, who each won a Heisman and thrice each placed in the top four of voting.

  • Talent. Sims wins any live-action eyeball test.

    Step aside, Davis and Blanchard. Sims was Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside. He could run through defenders and away from the same.

    NFL scouts agreed. Sims was the No. 1 pick in the 1980 NFL draft and proved to be a pro star until a knee injury wrecked his career.

    Sims was the total package.

    The Sooners have had a bushel of great running backs. Tommy McDonald and Vessels from the Bud Wilkinson era. Owens from the 1960s. Pruitt and Washington from the Barry Switzer days. Now Peterson.

    To rank Nos. 2 through 7, grab a hat and pull out names. I had Owens No. 2, then reshuffled and eventually made him seventh. I had McDonald No. 6 but eventually slotted him at No. 2.

    But Sims is a clear No. 1.

    Not for long, apparently. Peterson seems headed for a big year in 2006. He gained 1,108 yards in 11 games last season, in what was considered an off year. Quarterback struggles, an ineffective offensive line.

    Rhett Bomar figures to be much improved in 2006. The blocking might not be top shelf, but it can’t be worse. Barring injury, Peterson figures to be closer to his freshman production (1,925 yards) than his sophomore year.

    Peterson as an artist is the second coming of Sims. Physical and fast. Tough off tackle, dangerous on the corner. He is in the Sims-Vessels (and Marcus Dupree, who’s on a different list) class of pure talent.

    “Here’s a guy who can run 4.3 and weighs 220 pounds,” Sooner coach Bob Stoops said. “He absolutely destroys the weight room when you look at his ability to explode and exert all his power in his lifts. And he loves it. He goes at it hard and he has amazing stamina.

    “From day one when he walked in here, it was just amazing what he could handle. So he’s got all that and he has a great knack with his vision and ability to run past or around or make people miss or run through them”

    Sounds like the new and improved Billy Sims.

    Which is what Peterson is. Peterson is poised to supplant Sims as OU’s career rushing leader. Peterson needs 1,086 yards to pass Sims; Peterson could break the record by mid-season.

    If Peterson wins a Heisman, there’s no debate. He’s the greatest. But even sans Heisman, with a monster year, he takes a run at Sims.


     

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