Prelude to Greatness

by Smith, Jay, M.D.; Willis, Jim; Boren, David L.; Willis, William James

• ISBN13: 9780806135205
• ISBN10: 0806135204
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-08-01
• Publisher: Univ of Oklahoma Pr

Summary

Prelude to Greatness is an insider's story of life on a major college football team, focusing on the University of Oklahoma Sooners from 1994 to 1999. A rare source of insight for younger players who dream of playing college football, this book shows what they are in for: the range of experiences between failure and success, the elusive nature of any individual's dreams of glory, and the variety of motivations--good, bad, and ugly--prevalent in college football. Jay Smith is the only NCAA Division I football player to have played under four head coaches: Gary Gibbs, Howard Schnellenberger, John Blake, and Bob Stoops. A blue-chip offensive lineman from Arlington, Texas, he declined scholarships from virtually every other top team in the country to play with the Sooners in 1994 and follow a national championship dream. The dream did not materialize, and things went from bad to worse before the team showed progress in 1999 and the promise of a national championship to come in 2000. By that time, Smith had graduated and had to witness the victories from the sidelin

Author Biography

Jim Willis holds the Hardin Chair of Excellence in Journalism at the University of Memphis, Tennessee. Jay Smith is Sports Marketing Consultant for Engelstad Arena at the University of North Dakota, as well as a contracted manufacturing engineer for Delphi Automotive Systems in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Table of Contents

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS	vii
FOREWORD by David L. Boren	ix
PROLOGUE Jay Smith, OU Football, and the Crucible	xiii
AKNOWLEDGMENTS	xix
CHAPTER 1 The Sooners Bottom Out	3	(11)
CHAPTER 2 That's Why They Call Them Dreams	14	(37)
CHAPTER 3 Coach Gibbs: From High Hopes to Uncertainty	51	(19)
CHAPTER 4 Coach Schnellenberger: The Year-Long Boot Camp	70	(43)
CHAPTER 5 Coach Blake: The Expanding Playbook	113	(50)
CHAPTER 6 Coach Stoops: Targeted Discipline	163	(32)
CHAPTER 7 That Championship Season	195	(25)
EPILOGUE So You Think You Want to Play College Football?	220	(15)
NOTES	235	(6)
INDEX	241