Former Oklahoma RB Marcus Dupree Among Inaugural Inductees Into High School HOF
Marcus Dupree finally got the call that was inevitable.
“Congratulations,” the message said.
“For what?” Dupree asked.
Suffice it to say Dupree was still surprised that he had been inducted into the National High School Football Hall of Fame.
In the inaugural class, actually.
“I was shocked and humbled,” Dupree told AllSooners.
Marcus Dupree
Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
He didn’t need to be. Although the hall itself is new, Dupree’s spot in the first class has always been reserved.
During his career at Philadelphia High School in Philadelphia, MS, Dupree rushed for 7,355 yards and broke Herschel Walker’s national record with 87 rushing touchdowns.
He scored 12 total touchdowns as a freshman wide receiver — seven on kickoff and punt returns, including a 75-yard runback on his first varsity touch. As a sophomore in 1979, Dupree ran for 1,850 yards and scored 28 TDs. In 1980, Dupree totaled 2,550 rushing yards and 34 TDs, and as a senior, he went for 2,955 yards and 36 TDs.
Marcus Dupree
Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
He also played basketball and baseball.
“Just blessed I came through with great parents, great grandparents, great family, aunts and uncles, all of ‘em,” Dupree said. “We all had the same mindset, and I was just blessed to come through a great little town like Philadelphia, Mississippi.”
Dupree and his suitors changed the face of high school recruiting, as Barry Switzer assistant and former Sooner All-American Lucious Selmon famously spent six weeks at the Downtown Motor Inn in Philadelphia. Dupree originally committed to Texas and coach Fred Akers, but flipped to OU after flying on a private plane with 1978 Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims. His other finalist schools were UCLA and nearby Southern Miss.
Dupree was the subject of an acclaimed ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, “The Best That Never Was,” detailing his high school career, his unprecedented recruitment and his short 16-month stay at Oklahoma, during which he rushed for 1,144 yards as a true freshman in 1982, including a bowl-record 239 yards on just 17 carries in the Fiesta Bowl against Arizona State.
Dupree sustained a serious concussion against Texas midway through his sophomore season and went home to Mississippi. He never returned to Norman, enrolling at Southern Miss, then withdrawing from school and declaring for the USFL, where he played for the New Orleans Breakers and recorded two 100-yard games before suffering a major knee injury.
Dupree made his NFL comeback 5 1/2 years later and landed a spot on the Los Angeles Rams’ roster and ran for 251 yards and a touchdown in 1990 and ’91. He led the team in rushing during the 1992 preseason, then was released and didn’t play football again.
In 2017, Dupree was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Now he’ll be among the first class inducted into the National High School Football Hall of Fame alongside some of the greatest names in sports history.
“We congratulate you on this well-deserved recognition,” Dupree’s notification letter reads, “and we are very proud of the outstanding achievements you had at the high school level as a football player. We are all fortunate to have benefited from your many contributions to the history of high school football.”
Marcus Dupree in the Fiesta Bowl.
Photo by Icon Sportswire via Wochit
“It was kind of shocking,” Dupree said.
The ceremony is scheduled for July 30 at Timken Auditorium in Canton, OH.
The whole class hasn't been officially announced yet, but among the inaugural nominees are such gridiron luminaries as former Sooner Troy Aikman and Lee Roy Selmon, plus the likes of Terry Bradshaw, Earl Campbell, Eric Dickerson, Red Grange, Franco Harris, Steve Largent, Ray Lewis, Bob Lilly, Ronnie Lott, Dan Marino, Randy Moss, Orlando Pace, Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders, Junior Seau, Emmitt Smith, Roger Staubach, Derrick Thomas, Thurman Thomas, LaDainian Tomlinson, Reggie White, Steve Young and others.
A number of coaches and high schools are also nominated for inaugural induction, including Lawton, Clinton, Ada and Tulsa’s Booker T. Washington in Oklahoma.
The new hall hasn’t been built yet but is seeking partners to begin construction in Canton — home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The high school hall will also partner with Canton’s McKinley High School, according to the hall website.
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