Bryan: A great player who had his coach's respect
7/26/2009 2:07:59 PM
Sometimes, numbers alone don't do a man's football career justice.
For Rick Bryan, the former Sooner All-American who died at the too-young age of 47, numbers only tell part of a good story.
* He had 365 tackles, the most ever for a Sooner lineman -- a list with great names, including one Lee Roy Selmon.
* If you look at OU's single-game tackle records for defensive linemen, you'll see Bryan's name plenty. Four of the top six performances to be precise.
* And if you look at production in big games, Bryan shined there, too. He had 18 tackles in 1982 against Southern Cal. He had 16 tackles in 1981 against Texas. And by 1983, when everyone in the country knew who he was, he had 15 more tackles against the Longhorns.
But to define this career -- or this life -- numerically isn't enough.
Bryan grew up a country boy, and when his NFL career ended with the Atlanta Falcons, he went back home to Coweta. He had a family farm. He was an assistant football coach for a while at his old stomping grounds of Coweta High School. He watched his kids' dynamite athletic careers.
This morning, Bryan's OU football coach, Barry Switzer, spoke with World reporter Bill Haisten. Twice in that brief phone conversation, Switzer talked about Bryan's work ethic.
"No one outworked him," Switzer said.
You can look at Rick Bryan's numbers and figure out he's among Sooner greats. That tells you something about the player.
But what Switzer said tells you even more. The coach could have talked about great performances or immense talent. Instead, he twice mentioned work ethic.
Bryan had his coach's respect. That tells you something about the man. | |
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