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Cale Gundy in 1990 |
32 years, 27 college football seasons, 353 games, and several top recruits made up the Cale Gundy era at Oklahoma.
One of the most celebrated homegrown recruits in Sooners history, Gundy, was where it all started.
When Gundy signed with the Sooners in 1990 out of Midwest City High School, he was the most sought-after high school player in the state of Oklahoma and a top-five quarterback recruit nationally. Gundy is now the receivers coach for the University of Oklahoma and abruptly resigned late Sunday night after an alleged racially charged incident during a team meeting last week.
Gundy, a two-sport standout for the Sooners who also played baseball, experienced a dramatic coming-out celebration in Norman in the middle of his actual freshman year.
In the aftermath of Barry Switzer's retirement following the 1988 season, the school was on NCAA probation, and Gundy had the option of going to Oklahoma State with his older brother Mike.
However, Mike had previously (and seriously) contemplated enrolling at Oklahoma State. As a Cowboy, he broke multiple Big Eight Conference records. When Gary Gibbs gave him a scholarship, Cale joyfully wore the Crimson and Cream after a short trip down Sooner Road.
Cale Gundy
When his career began, the 6-foot-1, 193-pound Gundy wasn't quite ready for college football, but it didn't take him long.
Gundy sat on the bench against Kansas, the lone game in his career when he was healthy and didn't play, after backing up sophomore Steve Collins in an easy non-conference victory against UCLA, Pitt, and Tulsa (he completed 7-of-18 passes for 66 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions).
The legend of Cale Gundy began the next week while older brother Mike watched from the sidelines as an OSU coach.
Cale Gundy in 1991
As halftime drew near, the Cowboys had a 14-7 advantage, so Gundy was called off the bench to direct the Sooners' two-minute offensive.
Gundy launched a bomb to tight end, Adrian Cooper, on fourth-and-6, and as time ran down, Cooper made a leaping catch and crossed the goal line.
Quicker Magic? Just the "Cale Mary," though.
In what turned out to be a 31-17 Bedlam rout, Gundy finished 6-of-10 for 119 yards and scored his first career touchdown.
Cale Gundy
The next week against Texas, Gundy again provided Collins with support. But Gundy never gave up the position after coming off the bench in the second quarter against the Longhorns.
Gundy managed a 51-yard drive in the last two minutes that led to a game-winning field goal attempt, finishing the Red River Rivalry with just 3-of-6 completions for 51 yards. However, Texas hung on to a 14-13 victory despite R.D. Lashar's 46-yard field goal going wide left.
In the Sooners' subsequent game against Iowa State, Gundy received his first career start, but once again he was unlucky.
Cale Gundy
Gundy completed 10-of-13 passes for 119 yards, but the Sooners fell 33-31 in an odd upset at Norman, handing the Cyclones their first loss since 1960.
Gundy had an 8-of-14 completion percentage for 169 yards, one passing touchdown, and one running score when he departed the game due to injury with a 14-12 lead over eventual national champion Colorado. 32–23 was the final score for the Buffs.
The Sooners won their previous three games (55-10 against Missouri, 34-7 at Kansas State, and 45-10 in a historic upset over Nebraska) with Gundy back in the lineup, and he played well: 20-of-42, 387 yards, two TDs, and no total INTs.
Despite having poor total stats in 1990 (54-of-109, 904 yards, four touchdowns, and three interceptions), Gundy was the quarterback in charge of eventually transitioning OU from the wishbone era to a more contemporary style.
Cale Gundy (left) and Brent Venables
The reconstruction was difficult because Gibbs' offensive two-deep had been primarily designed for running the option and because NCAA sanctions had robbed the team of essential depth. OU finished 7-4 the year before Gundy took over, then 8-3, 9-3, 5-4-2, and 9-3 over the course of his four seasons.
Gundy outperformed every OU quarterback who came before him in single-game passing, single-season passing, and career passing. His record as the starting quarterback was 24-12-2. He had 6,142 throwing yards at the end of his career, which remained unchallenged in the OU record books until Gundy, Bob Stoops' running backs coach in 1999, helped Josh Heupel break all of his previous marks.
Gundy had the three most productive passing seasons in OU history when he left the program. Now, Sam Bradford, Landry Jones, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts, Jason White, Spencer Rattler, Paul Thompson, Nate Hybl, and, of course, Heupel outperform him with stats from his sophomore, junior, and senior years, which place 20th, 22nd, and 26th in school history, respectively.
But Gundy will always be the first, regardless of how many "passing" quarterbacks garnish the Sooner record books.
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