A trio of Oklahoma greats are up for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame this year.
Rocky Calmus, George Cumby and Josh Heupel were among the 77 former FBS players on the ballot for the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame class announced by the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame on Monday. Both Calmus and Heupel are repeat nominees, while this marks the first time Cumby has appeared on the ballot.
The 2025 College Football Hall of Fame class will be voted on by more than 12,000 NFF members and current hall of fame inductees. Their votes will be tabulated and submitted to the NFF Honors Court — chaired by Ohio State legend Archie Griffin — which will then deliberate and select the induction class. The class will be inducted during the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 9, 2025, in Las Vegas.
"It's an enormous honor to just be on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot considering more than 5.7 million people have played college football and only 1,093 players have been inducted," NFF president and CEO Steve Hatchell said in a release. "The Hall's requirement of being a first-team All-American creates a much smaller pool of about 1,500 individuals who are even eligible. Being in today's elite group means an individual is truly among the greatest to have ever played the game, and we look forward to announcing the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame Class early next year."
Former Oklahoma defensive lineman Dewey Selmon, who starred for the Sooners from 1972-75, was selected as part of the 2024 induction class and will enter the College Hall of Fame this December.
He will be the 24th former OU player to make it into the College Hall of Fame.
Calmus spent four seasons at Oklahoma under then-coach Bob Stoops from 1998-2001, racking up 431 career tackles, which ranks fourth in program history, and a program-best 59 tackles for loss. He also has the most career sacks by a linebacker at Oklahoma (14), and he also leads all Sooners linebackers with 26 pass breakups and seven fumble recoveries. Calmus rounded out his resume from a production standpoint with three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns, 29 quarterback hurries, five forced fumbles and three blocked kicks across 44 career starts.
A native Jenks, just outside of Tulsa, Calmus cemented his place in OU history as a senior in 2001 when he won the Butkus Award, which does annually to the nation's top linebacker, after leading the team in tackles for the third consecutive season (117) while posting 15 tackles for loss. That year he was also a finalist for the Nagurski and Bednarik Awards, as well as the Lombardy Award. He was a consensus All-American in 2000 and 2001.
Heupel spent two seasons as Oklahoma's starting quarterback after transferring in from junior college. He was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 2000, when he became the program's first consensus All-America quarterback and led the Sooners to their most recent national championship. His arrival at Oklahoma sparked a significant turnaround for an offense that was one of the worst in the nation before he signed with the Sooners.
Across two seasons, Heupel threw for 7,456 yards and 53 touchdowns, and he still ranks top-five in program history in career passing yards, career completions and career passing attempts. He's sixth in the OU record books in career touchdown passes despite playing just two seasons with the Sooners. Heupel threw for 300-plus yards in 14 of his 25 career starts, and during his final seasons with the program he was named the AP Player of the Year, Walter Camp Player of the Year, The Sporting News Player of the Year, CBS Sports Player of the Year and Big 12 Player of the Year.
Heupel, now in his third year as Tennessee's head coach, will make his return to Oklahoma in September when the Vols visit the Sooners in the teams' SEC opener at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
Cumby played at Oklahoma from 1975-79, starting his career as a running back before flipping to the defensive side and finding a home at linebacker. In three years as a linebacker, Cumby earned first-team All-Big Eight honors each season, took home the Big Eight Defensive Newcomer of the Year award in 1977 and was named the Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year in 1978 and 1979. He earned first-team AP All-America honors in 1977 and was a unanimous All-American during his senior year in 1979.
Cumby finished his Oklahoma career with 437 total tackles (second in program history) and was just the third OU linebacker to finish with three separate seasons of 100-plus tackles. During his time with the Sooners, Cumby helped lead OU to a 32-4 record in games he started, including a 20-1 mark in the Big Eight, with four conference titles. His teams finished No. 5 in the AP poll in 1976, No. 7 in 1977, followed by back-to-back No. 3 finishes in 1978-79.