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Jerry Rhome
1963-64
Jerry Rhome’s passing prowess brought national attention to Tulsa. The Dallas native set nearly all of the NCAA passing records in 1963 and 1964. He finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1964 after throwing for 2,870 yards and 32 TDs in his senior campaign. During one stretch, he threw 198 passes without an interception. A member of the 1984 Tulsa Hall of Fame and 1998 College Football Hall of Fame, he was voted an All-America quarterback by the United Press International and Football Writers Association during his final year. He played seven seasons (from 1965-71) in the NFL, mainly for the Dallas Cowboys.
ARTICLE: Golden past rich with QBs
Paul Smith set an NCAA recordlast year with 14 straight gameswith 300 passing yards.STEPHEN PINGRY/Tulsa World file
By ERIC BAILEY World Sports Writer
6/15/2008
Last Modified: 6/15/2008 4:14 AM
THE QUESTION: Who is the best quarterback in TU history?
Bill Blankenship has always been intrigued by Tulsa’s quarterbacks.
From Glenn Dobbs to Paul Smith, he’s familiar with a long history of signal-callers, which includes himself.
“I think some of that was in the nature of the position,” Blankenship said. “We’ve had a great tradition for quite a while for getting guys into the NFL and playing.” Putting together a list of TU’s top quarterbacks is hard when limited.
Dobbs was Tulsa’s first All-American, which happened during the World War II days. Fast forward almost 70 years, and Smith was rewriting NCAA, Conference USA and Tulsa records in 2007.
T.J. Rubley brought electricity to town with wins over rival Oklahoma State and No. 15 Texas A&M. No one will forget Jerry Rhome lofting passes to Howard Twilley and finishing second in the 1964 Heisman Trophy voting.
Jeb Blount, Billy Guy Anderson and Steve Gage were also solid candidates for the top 5. Strong arguments can be made for all.
Anderson led the nation by throwing for 3,474 yards in his one season (1965) as TU’s starting quarterback. Gage was an option based quarterback that could take over a football game.
Blount was a winner who led TU to three straight Missouri Valley Conference titles from 1973-75. In 1974 and 1975, many of his touchdown passes went to Steve Largent.
Blankenship was a freshman during Blount’s senior season.
“I idolized him,” Blankenship said. “He was my hero and he was the guy that had the job down.
“He was here during an era when we were winning games and throwing the football around.” Blankenship, along with Tulsa fans, is hoping the best is yet for come for the program.
“We have a great history of quarterbacks, and it’s a great thing,” Blankenship said.
1963-64
Jerry Rhome’s passing prowess brought national attention to Tulsa. The Dallas native set nearly all of the NCAA passing records in 1963 and 1964. He finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1964 after throwing for 2,870 yards and 32 TDs in his senior campaign. During one stretch, he threw 198 passes without an interception. A member of the 1984 Tulsa Hall of Fame and 1998 College Football Hall of Fame, he was voted an All-America quarterback by the United Press International and Football Writers Association during his final year. He played seven seasons (from 1965-71) in the NFL, mainly for the Dallas Cowboys.
ARTICLE: Golden past rich with QBs
Paul Smith set an NCAA recordlast year with 14 straight gameswith 300 passing yards.STEPHEN PINGRY/Tulsa World file
By ERIC BAILEY World Sports Writer
6/15/2008
Last Modified: 6/15/2008 4:14 AM
THE QUESTION: Who is the best quarterback in TU history?
Bill Blankenship has always been intrigued by Tulsa’s quarterbacks.
From Glenn Dobbs to Paul Smith, he’s familiar with a long history of signal-callers, which includes himself.
“I think some of that was in the nature of the position,” Blankenship said. “We’ve had a great tradition for quite a while for getting guys into the NFL and playing.” Putting together a list of TU’s top quarterbacks is hard when limited.
Dobbs was Tulsa’s first All-American, which happened during the World War II days. Fast forward almost 70 years, and Smith was rewriting NCAA, Conference USA and Tulsa records in 2007.
T.J. Rubley brought electricity to town with wins over rival Oklahoma State and No. 15 Texas A&M. No one will forget Jerry Rhome lofting passes to Howard Twilley and finishing second in the 1964 Heisman Trophy voting.
Jeb Blount, Billy Guy Anderson and Steve Gage were also solid candidates for the top 5. Strong arguments can be made for all.
Anderson led the nation by throwing for 3,474 yards in his one season (1965) as TU’s starting quarterback. Gage was an option based quarterback that could take over a football game.
Blount was a winner who led TU to three straight Missouri Valley Conference titles from 1973-75. In 1974 and 1975, many of his touchdown passes went to Steve Largent.
Blankenship was a freshman during Blount’s senior season.
“I idolized him,” Blankenship said. “He was my hero and he was the guy that had the job down.
“He was here during an era when we were winning games and throwing the football around.” Blankenship, along with Tulsa fans, is hoping the best is yet for come for the program.
“We have a great history of quarterbacks, and it’s a great thing,” Blankenship said.
