Oklahoma Football: "Primetime" Who? Remembering "The Boz"

Players like Brian Bosworth are what make college football so special. Colorful characters who speak their minds and whose outrageous acts of rebellion are part passion and part arrogance.

Deion Sanders was the same way coming out of Florida State. A player who thought so highly of himself and did such a good job marketing himself and creating his character that he was able to introduce his new persona, "Primetime," by the time he was ready for the NFL.

Bosworth was similar to Sanders in some ways and on the opposite side of the spectrum in others.

Sanders was a highly skilled, fragile, and speedy corner back who danced and showed off all the way to the end zone on his interceptions. He was someone who loved his persona and fan adoration more than he loved football.

Bosworth loved his persona and fan adoration just as much as Sanders did, but he loved football just as much. As the brash middle linebacker for Barry Switzer's Oklahoma teams, he was a strong, fast, and fearless player who was most likely to show off only after he hit the guy in the mouth.

Bosworth came to the University of Oklahoma in 1984 from Texas, the place where Oklahoma seems to find all of their linebackers. Although his arrogance and cocky attitude grated on some, his play on the field more than made up for it.

He led the team in tackles as a freshman with 133 as he led the Sooners to a 9-2 record. His penchant for playing his best in big games endeared him to his teammates and fans at Oklahoma, but his mouth alienated him from the media, who labeled him as a bad boy and a cocky thug.

Never one to shy away from criticism, he said whatever he thought whenever a microphone was in front of him. His love for media attention led to his ever-changing and popular haircuts.

Bosworth almost transcended football itself and made his play and antics more  sports entertainment than anything else. But despite his colorful off-the-field actions, his talent on the field could not be denied.

An incredibly intelligent player, Bosworth was the epitome of a great middle linebacker. Not only did he always follow the play with a never-ending motor, but once he found the ball he made sure he threw all his strength into the tackles.

He was also a fantastic blitzer. He went through his assigned blitz hole with unrivaled intensity, and his ability to hide his movements allowed him to come through unblocked a lot, nightmarish stuff for opposing quarterbacks.

He built on his fantastic freshman campaign with an even better sophomore season. He once again led the team in tackles with 144. Bosworth was the vocal leader on a fearsome defense that was forced to carry the team when Troy Aikman went down with an injury against Miami.

In the Red River Rivalry against No. 17 Texas, Bosworth finished with 14 tackles (11 unassisted) and an acrobatic interception of quarterback Todd Dodge, the current head coach for North Texas.

After losing Aikman, the Sooners went on a rampage led by the defense and Bosworth. When No. 2 Nebraska came to Norman sporting the nation's best running game at 395 yards per game, it was up to Bosworth and the rest of the defense to win the game.

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