P.T. deserves an MVP
Sooner quarterback’s leadership makes him valuable

By John Helsley

Published: December 11, 2006

A Big 12 football championship claimed on that frigid Saturday night in Kansas City, Paul Thompson finally let the emotion flow.

The stoic face of the Sooners all season, their calming presence, Thompson turned giddy on the Arrowhead Stadium turf.

Geeked with postgame adrenaline, Thompson was animated like never before in public. His voice raised an octave not at all familiar. He even swayed and danced with fans.

So uncharacteristic, yet so apropos in a season made possible by Thompson.

"I was loving it. Those aren’t easy to come by,” Thompson said of the Big 12 title. "This team has fought and fought and fought. To get that, I had to celebrate.”

You’re allowed, P.T.

Now take your place in an elite club alongside Josh Heupel and Nate Hybl and Jason White — OU’s Big 12 Championship Quarterback Club.

Admission was secured with that 99-yard touchdown drive off the goal line against Nebraska, with Thompson going 6-for-7 through the air for 95 yards and providing the decisive dagger in the Cornhuskers with a 3-yard scoring toss to Malcolm Kelly.

Conference coaches failed to recognize Thompson’s full impact, lumping him on the All-Big 12 honorable mention list where anyone who is nominated lands.

Nebraska’s Zac Taylor, the losing quarterback at Arrowhead Stadium, was first-team All-Big 12 and the league’s Offensive Player of the Year. Not a bad choice. Missouri’s Chase Daniel, a loser to OU in Columbia, was second-team.

Both were stat-line selections typical of what all-conference teams are about.

But what about the intangibles?

What about leadership and confidence and calm?

It’s those assets that qualify Thompson for an honor the Big 12 doesn’t offer: Most Valuable Player.

Seriously, in the Big 12 this season, who was more valuable?

In a Sooner season that was supposed to be dominated by the initials A.D., it instead belonged to P.T. It was Thompson who rescued this fall from ruin with his unselfish switch from wide receiver to quarterback and his unflinching play when the Sooners kept absorbing potentially fatal blows.

"He’s the best,” Sooners coach Bob Stoops said of Thompson. "He’s what you want. If you can go out and recruit guys like him every single day, you would.

"His character. His toughness. His attitude. His leadership.”

So Thompson didn’t have the Big 12’s best stats.

He was seventh in passing yards and fifth in passing efficiency. He’s first in championships: 2; South Division and overall Big 12.

And Thompson’s numbers weren’t at all bad. He finished with 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions and his 2,434 passing yards rank sixth all-time for a single season at OU.

In two games — two dangerous games, against Texas Tech and Nebraska — Thompson turned momentum with his arm.

For that and what it meant, another Sooner championship and a Fiesta Bowl berth in the unlikeliest of seasons, he’ll be remembered.

And because of that, he’s allowed a few moments of giddiness.

"You want to win championships and that’s what we were able to do,” Thompson said. "You have to celebrate it. You have to enjoy it.”