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Ricky Bryan was Cornerstone for OU
Published: 7/27/2009 7:53 AM
Last Modified: 7/27/2009 7:53 AM

For all of the talk about five-star athletes, big-time recruits from the big cities, the cornerstone of Oklahoma football are guys like Ricky Bryan.

A small-town guy. Good football player. Good guy.

Bryan died over the weekend, far too young at 47.

He was a three-time All-Big Eight and two-time All-America. He was a first round pick of the Atlanta Falcons.

But, what he was to his teammates was far more. He was extremely popular with not only his teammates but everyone he met.

In recent years, he became a very popular Tulsa football fan, where his son Mike is a starting linebacker.

Ricky Bryan is just the kind of player that built OU football. He came from a small Oklahoma town and became one of the best college players in America.
Much like others before him, guys from places like Miami, Cleveland and Eufaula, he went from the wheat fields to the playing fields.

But, more than all of the tackles, he'll be remembered for being a good guy.
That may be the molst important lesson of all for younbg players. He never forgot where he came from and never quit being thankful for everything and everyone around him.


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Klein's Korner

Tulsa World senior sports columnist John Klein is in his fourth decade of covering sports. He started his newspaper career at The Daily Ardmoreite in 1977 and moved to the Tulsa World in 1978. He served 10 years as sports editor for the Tulsa World before being named to his current position in 2005. He also spent five years as the Southwest Conference beat writer for the Houston Post. He has won many writing awards and is a former Oklahoma Sports Writer of the Year.

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