Conference Big 12 Conference AP No. 16 Head coach Bob Stoops (13th year) | Coaches No. 15 2011 record 10–3 (6–3 Big 12) | |
Co-offensive coordinator Josh Heupel (1st full as coordinator, 7th overall year) |
The 2011 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season, the 117th season of Sooner football. The team was led by two-time Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award winner, Bob Stoops, in his 13th season as head coach. They played their home games at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. They were a charter member of the Big 12 Conference.
Contents
Conference play began with a win at home over the Missouri Tigers on September 24, and concluded with a loss in the annual Bedlam Series to the Oklahoma State Cowboys on December 3 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. This loss marked the first time OSU had beaten Oklahoma in nine years, the last time coming in 2002. The Sooners finished the regular season with a 9–3 record (6–3 record in the Big 12), finishing in a tie with Baylor for third place in the conference. They were invited to the Insight Bowl, where they defeated Iowa, 31–14.
Following the season, Ryan Broyles was selected in the 2nd round of the 2012 NFL Draft, Donald Stephenson and Jamell Fleming in the 3rd, Frank Alexander and Ronnell Lewis in the 4th, James Hanna in the 6th, and Travis Lewis in the 7th. This total number of seven ties with the total following the 2009 season as the second-most Sooners selected in the NFL Draft in the 16 years of the Stoops era, placing behind the mark of 11 following the 2004 season.
Roster
On May 19, 2011, Austin Box, a linebacker finishing his junior year at Oklahoma, was found dead in his home. El Reno Police Chief Ken Brown said officers and medics responded to a call at a house in the town about 30 miles west of Oklahoma City at about 9:25 AM concerning an unresponsive male "with unknown medical issues." Brown identified the man as Box and said he first was taken to an El Reno hospital, then transferred by air ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City. Box died a short time later. Sophomore running back Jonathan Miller announced after the season opener against Tulsa that he intended to transfer from Oklahoma. Five days after Miller announced he would be transferring, junior running back Jermie Calhoun announced he would also transfer out. On October 24, sophomore Austin Haywood announced he would also be transferring from Oklahoma at the end of the semester.
2012 NFL Draft
The 2012 NFL Draft was held on April 26–28, 2012 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The following Oklahoma players were either selected or signed as undrafted free agents following the draft.