There are great players in Oklahoma football history.
There are legends.
And then there are those rare figures who become larger than the program itself—players whose names are spoken with such reverence that generations of fans who never watched them play still know exactly who they are.
As the countdown to Oklahoma’s 2026 season reaches 93 days, there is only one place to turn.
No. 93.
Lee Roy Selmon.
When conversations begin about the greatest player in Oklahoma football history, the list is long. The Sooners have produced seven Heisman Trophy winners, dozens of All-Americans, national champions, and Hall of Famers.
Yet when former players, coaches, and historians discuss the greatest defensive player ever to wear the Crimson and Cream, the conversation usually ends before it begins.
The answer is Lee Roy Selmon.
Nearly 50 years after his final game in Norman, he remains the standard by which every Oklahoma defensive lineman is measured.
Before There Was a Standard, There Was Lee Roy
Today’s Oklahoma players arrive in Norman surrounded by modern facilities, national television exposure, NIL opportunities, and social media attention.
Lee Roy Selmon arrived with none of those things.
What he brought instead was relentless effort, unmatched toughness, and a determination that would help define one of the greatest eras in Oklahoma football history.
By the time his career ended in 1975, the Sooners had won two national championships, captured multiple conference titles, and established themselves as one of the dominant programs in America.
At the center of it all stood No. 93.
Selmon wasn’t flashy.
He wasn’t interested in attention.
He simply dominated.
Opposing coaches built entire game plans around avoiding him.
Unfortunately for them, avoiding Lee Roy Selmon was often impossible.
The Most Dominant Family in College Football History
Oklahoma football has produced many legendary players.
It has never produced another story quite like the Selmons.
Lee Roy wasn’t the only star in the family.
His brothers, Dewey and Lucious, were also standout Sooners.
Together, they created what remains one of the most remarkable family legacies college football has ever seen.
In 1973, Oklahoma fielded an all-Selmon defensive front.
Think about that for a moment.
Three brothers.
Starting together.
On the same defensive line.
For opposing offenses, it was a nightmare.
For Oklahoma fans, it became the stuff of legend.
From 1971 through 1975, with at least one Selmon brother on the field, the Sooners posted an incredible 54-3-1 record.
They won four Big Eight championships.
They captured back-to-back national titles.
And they built a dynasty.
The brothers combined for hundreds of tackles and countless disruptive plays, but their impact went beyond statistics.
They helped establish a culture of toughness that still exists in Norman today.
The Selmons became so beloved that bumper stickers began appearing all over Oklahoma carrying a simple message:
“God bless Mrs. Selmon.”
The phrase became famous throughout the state.
Even Barry Switzer loved repeating it.
It was his way of acknowledging the family that helped build a championship program.
The Heart of a Championship Defense
When fans remember Oklahoma’s national championship teams of 1974 and 1975, they often remember the wishbone offense and the points scored.
What sometimes gets overlooked is how dominant the defense was.
Lee Roy Selmon was the centerpiece.
At defensive tackle, he overwhelmed blockers with a combination of strength, quickness, intelligence, and relentless effort.
Statistics from the era don’t fully tell the story because sacks were not officially recorded by the NCAA the way they are today.
But the numbers that do exist are staggering.
Selmon finished his Oklahoma career with 324 tackles.
He recorded 40 tackles for loss.
Those tackles behind the line cost opposing offenses 184 yards.
Yet even those numbers fail to capture his true impact.
Former Oklahoma defensive coordinator Larry Lacewell once noted that many opponents simply altered their offensive game plans to avoid running plays toward Selmon altogether.
Think about how dominant a player must be to change what an entire offense wants to do before the game even begins.
That’s the kind of respect Lee Roy commanded.
The Greatest Season Ever by an Oklahoma Defensive Lineman?
In 1975, Selmon produced one of the most decorated seasons in college football history.
The awards piled up.
He became a consensus All-American.
He won the Lombardi Award, presented to the nation’s top lineman.
He won the Outland Trophy, awarded to the country’s best interior lineman.
In many ways, he swept the major defensive honors available at the time.
The accolades reflected what everyone around college football already knew.
There simply wasn’t another defensive lineman like him.
The Sooners finished 11-1 and secured a second consecutive national championship.
Selmon’s dominance had become impossible to ignore.
When NFL scouts evaluated prospects heading into the 1976 draft, they reached a unanimous conclusion.
The best player available wore No. 93 for Oklahoma.
Oklahoma’s First No. 1 Overall Pick
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were an expansion franchise preparing for their inaugural season in 1976.
They needed a cornerstone.
They needed a face of the franchise.
They needed a leader.
They selected Lee Roy Selmon with the first overall pick in the NFL Draft.
He became Oklahoma’s first No. 1 overall draft selection.
The choice proved to be a historic one.
Selmon became one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history and eventually earned induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He was the same player in Tampa that he had been in Norman.
Tough.
Dependable.
Dominant.
Respected.
Great Player. Even Greater Man.
What separates Selmon from many football legends is that his reputation extends far beyond the field.
Talk to former teammates.
Talk to coaches.
Talk to people who knew him.
The stories sound remarkably similar.
Everyone admired the player.
Everyone loved the person.
After football, Selmon became a respected administrator, community leader, mentor, and ambassador for the sport.
His character matched his accomplishments.
That’s a rare combination.
In a game filled with larger-than-life personalities, Selmon became legendary because of both what he achieved and how he carried himself.
A Legacy Set in Bronze
In September 2022, Oklahoma officially unveiled a bronze statue honoring the Selmon brothers outside Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
The significance went far beyond the artwork itself.
For decades, Oklahoma’s statues had largely celebrated offensive stars and Heisman Trophy winners.
The Selmon monument changed that.
It became the first statue dedicated to defensive players in program history.
That distinction feels fitting.
Because if Oklahoma football has a defensive Mount Rushmore, Lee Roy Selmon’s face is carved into it.
His legacy isn’t merely part of the program’s history.
It is part of the program’s foundation.
Why No. 93 Still Matters
Every season, a new generation of Sooners arrives in Norman hoping to leave its mark.
Some will become stars.
A few will become legends.
Only a handful will become standards.
Lee Roy Selmon reached that level long ago.
When they talk about leadership, they’re talking about players like Selmon.
When coaches talk about effort, they’re talking about players like Selmon.
When they talk about representing Oklahoma football the right way, they’re talking about players like Selmon.
Ninety-three days before kickoff, there is no better player to celebrate.
Because No. 93 wasn’t just one of the greatest players in Oklahoma history.
He helped define what greatness looks like.
Days Until Kickoff: 93
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