The University of Oklahoma and The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced today that they will jointly honor 2022 College Football Hall of Fame electee Roy Williams with an NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute, presented by Fidelity Investments®. The Salute will take place this Saturday, Nov. 5, between the first and second quarters of the Sooners' home football game against Baylor, which will kick off at 2 p.m. CT on and air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
"So honored and blessed to be one of the inductees for this year's 2022 College Hall of Fame," Williams tweeted after the January announcement. "Such an elite honor. It still hasn't really hit me yet that I'm in."
The NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute program, which began with the inaugural College Football Hall of Fame Class in 1951, has become a hallowed tradition, and to this day the singular events remain the first of numerous activities in the Hall of Fame experience.
During the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, each electee returns to his respective school to accept a Hall of Fame plaque that will stay on permanent display at the institution. The events take place on the field during a home game, and many Hall of Famers cite the experience as the ultimate capstone to their careers, providing them one more chance to take the field and be recognized in front of their home crowd.
"Roy Williams struck fear into his opponents while leading Oklahoma to a national title and recording one of the most memorable plays in college football history," said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. "We are thrilled to honor him at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium for his upcoming College Football Hall of Fame induction."
A unanimous first-team All-American in 2001, Williams started 31 games for the Sooners, recording 287 tackles, 34 tackles for loss, nine interceptions and 44 pass deflections during his career.
In 2001, he captained the Sooners to an 11-2 record and a 10-3 win in the Cotton Bowl against Arkansas. Williams posted six tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks in the game, claiming defensive MVP honors.
His performance during the 2001 season made him the first player in history to claim the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Jim Thorpe Award in the same year. He was also the 2001 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and he finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting, the highest vote total in 2001 for a non-quarterback.
In 2000, he led the Big 12 champion Sooners to their first 13-win season and first undefeated campaign since 1987, capped by a 13-2 win over Florida State in the 2001 Orange Bowl to claim the BCS National Championship.
In 1999, which marked the first season at OU for Coach Bob Stoops (inducted into the Hall in 2021), Williams helped Oklahoma notch a 7-5 record and a spot in the Independence Bowl, which snapped the school's four-year absence from postseason play.
A two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection, he carved a unique place in Oklahoma football annals with an iconic play during the 2001 Red River Showdown. Leaping over defenders, Williams knocked the ball from Texas QB Chris Simms
Selected as the eighth overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft by Dallas, Williams played for the Cowboys from 2002-08 and the Cincinnati Bengals from 2009-10, earning five consecutive Pro Bowl selections from 2003-07 while being named a first-team All-Pro in 2003.
William currently serves as the president of Global Security Corporation in Edmond, Oklahoma, which provides protection for VIPs, security at corporate events and other security consulting services. Active in the community, he established the Roy Williams Safety Net Foundation to support low-income single mothers.
The Roy Williams Strength Training Facility at OU is named in his honor, and he is a member of the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame.
Williams becomes the 23rd Sooner player in the College Football Hall of Fame, joining Brian Bosworth (1984-86), Tom Brahaney (1970-72), Kurt Burris (1951-54), Tony Casillas (1982-85), Rickey Dixon (1984-87), Forest Geyer (1913-15), Keith Jackson (1984-87), Tommy McDonald (1954-56), Jim Owens (1946-49), Steve Owens (1967-69), Greg Pruitt (1970-72), Claude Reeds (1910-13), J.D. Roberts (1951-53), Lee Roy Selmon (1972-75), Rod Shoate (1972-74), Billy Sims (1975-79), Clendon Thomas (1955-57), Jerry Tubbs (1954-56), Billy Vessels (1950-52), Joe Washington (1972-75), Jim Weatherall (1948-51) and Waddy Young (1936-38).
Six former Oklahoma coaches are also in the Hall: Biff Jones (1935-36), Bennie Owen (1905-26), Bob Stoops (1999-2016), Barry Switzer (1973-88), Jim Tatum (1946) and Bud Wilkinson (1947-63).
The 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class includes LaVar Arrington (Penn State), Champ Bailey (Georgia), Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech), Sylvester Croom (Alabama), Mike Doss (Ohio State), Chuck Ealey (Toledo), Kevin Faulk (LSU), Moe Gardner (Illinois), Boomer Grigsby (Illinois State), Mike Hass (Oregon State), Marvin Jones (Florida State), Andrew Luck (Stanford), Mark Messner (Michigan),
The accomplishments of the 2022 Class will be forever immortalized at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, and each inductee will receive a custom ring created by Jostens, the official and exclusive supplier of NFF rings.
Including the 2022 Hall of Fame Class, only 1,056 players and 226 coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame from the nearly 5.62 million who have played or coached the game during the past 153 years. In other words, less than two one-hundredths of a percent (.02%) of the individuals who have played the game have earned this distinction.
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