Unprecedented? Six Sooners Add One for the Thumb
Six Oklahoma football players got one for the thumb this weekend.
As OU coach Lincoln Riley showed off the program’s fifth consecutive Big 12 Championship ring on Twitter, six Sooners celebrated an achievement unprecedented in the last 40 years of OU history.
Three defensive linemen, two wide receivers and a walk-on quarterback/holder are the first OU players since 1980 to slip on their fifth conference title ring.
Wideout Nick Basquine, noseguard Neville Gallimore, defensive end Kenneth Mann, quarterback Connor McGinnis, wideout A.D. Miller and defensive tackle Marquise Overton each own five rings in their careers.
Top, L-R: Basquine, Gallimore, Overton, Miller, Mann and McGinnis
Photos: OU Athletics
Making history at a place with tradition like Oklahoma isn't easy. But this one is a tribute to the grit and determination of six men who not only put in the time to excel on the field and in the classroom, but overcame various challenges along the way and chose to remain a part of the OU roster.
Basquine, for instance, didn't have a scholarship offer when he arrived, endured two season-ending injuries and still finished his career strong. Miller entered the transfer portal for Illinois, but returned soon after and was a contributor in 2019. McGinnis was a walk-on who started four straight seasons as the team's holder on placekicks.
Other seniors in 2019 won their fourth straight championship ring at OU: linebacker Mark Jackson (now at TCU), wideout Lee Morris and cornerback Parnell Motley.
Winning the Big 12 under Riley has become almost passe, even taken for granted. But it shouldn't be: In 125 years of college football, not many OU players in the program’s history — and none in the last four decades — have ever won five straight conference championships.
Coupling Jim Tatum's title in 1946 and Bud Wilkinson’s 13 in a row from 1947-59, 14 straight OU teams won Big 6/Big 7 crowns, but individual players winning five straight titles would be tough to find because, with few exceptions, freshmen were not eligible.
After freshmen became eligible in 1972, Barry Switzer’s Sooners won nine straight Big Eight titles from 1972-80, but redshirt seasons were not available to true freshmen until 1978. So between both situations, a player's opportunity to play five seasons was much more restricted than it is now.
The elite group from 2019 could be joined this year by six Sooners — if there’s a college football season in 2020, and if the Sooners repeat again: linebacker Bryan Mead, quarterback Tanner Schafer, offensive tackle Erik Swenson, defensive back Chanse Sylvie, linebacker Jon-Michael Terry and linebacker Josh Schenck could win their fifth straight Big 12 ring.
Here’s more on the Sooners’ super six:
WR Nick Basquine, 5-11, 202, Norman (North)
- 2014: Redshirted.
- 2015: Did not play.
- 2016: Played in 13 games with two starts; caught 20 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns.
- 2017: Redshirted (medical hardship).
- 2018: Played in 14 games; caught seven passes for 134 yards.
- 2019: Played in 14 games with three starts; caught 19 passes for 275 yards and one touchdown.
NG Neville Gallimore, 6-2, 301, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada (Canada Prep Football Academy)
- 2015: Redshirted.
- 2016: Played in 13 games with six starts; made 40 tackles (4.0 TFL) and one QB sack.
- 2017: Played in 12 games with five starts; made 28 tackles (1.0 TFL) with half a QB sack.
- 2018: Started 13 games; made 50 tackles (5.5 TFL) with three QB sacks.
- 2019: Started 14 games; made 30 tackles (7.5 TFL) with 4.0 QB sacks and made second-team All-Big 12 and third-team All-American.
DE Kenneth Mann, 6-3, 269, Burleson, TX
- 2015: Redshirted.
- 2016: Played in eight games, mostly on special teams, with two tackles.
- 2017: Played in 13 games; made 28 tackles (6.0 TFL), with five QB sacks.
- 2018: Started 13 games; made 51 tackles (5.5 TFL) with 1 QB sack.
- 2019: Played in six games with one start before a season-ending injury; made five tackles (1.5 TFL) with one QB sack.
QB Connor McGinnis, 6-4, 180, Oklahoma City (Heritage Hall)
- 2015: Redshirted.
- 2016: Held on placekicks in 13 games.
- 2017: Holder on placekicks in 14 games, winning Mortell Holder of the Year (HOTY) award.
- 2018: Held on placekicks in 14 games.
- 2019: Held on placekicks in 14 games.
WR A.D. Miller, 6-3, 194, Dallas (Bishop Dunne)
- 2015: Played in six games with one start; caught two passes for 16 yards.
- 2016: Played in 12 games with five starts; caught 12 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
- 2017: Redshirted.
- 2018: Played in nine games with four starts; caught seven passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns.
- 2019: Played in 10 games with two starts; caught six passes for 118 yards.
DT Marquise Overton, 6-1, 304, Jenks, OK
- 2015: Played in eight games; made five tackles (one TFL) with one QB sack.
- 2016: Played in two games before an injury and medical redshirt; made two tackles.
- 2017: Played in 14 games with nine starts; made 43 tackles (three TFL).
- 2018: Played in 11 games; made 10 tackles.
- 2019: Played in 14 games; made 19 tackles (4.5 TFL) with one QB sack.
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