NFL · Pro Bowl
Billy Sims
Running back · 3 selections · retired · OU 1975-1979
Heisman winner, No. 1 pick and a Pro Bowler in each of his first three seasons
Billy Sims won the 1978 Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma and finished second in 1979. The Detroit Lions made him the first overall pick in the 1980 draft, and he went straight to the Pro Bowl as a rookie. That season he was the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and a second-team All-Pro.
He made the Pro Bowl again after the 1981 and 1982 seasons, three selections in his first three NFL seasons, all with Detroit. He was second-team All-Pro again in 1981, and the Lions reached the playoffs in 1982 and 1983.
A knee injury in 1984 ended his career after five seasons. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995, and in 2007 OU dedicated a bronze statue of him in Heisman Park. His three Pro Bowls tie him with Mark Andrews, Tommie Harris, Jalen Hurts, DeMarco Murray and Tress Way among former Sooners.