Hall of Famer Troy Aikman reflects on wild recruitment process
Troy Aikman’s run from college standout at UCLA to three-time Super Bowl winner, NFL Hall of Famer and broadcaster has been well-documented.
What most people don’t know is that Aikman nearly stayed in his childhood home of Oklahoma and not with the Sooners.
Aikman recently talked with Ryen Russillo on his podcast about his recruitment journey. While he would eventually go on to play for both Oklahoma and then UCLA, it was nearly Oklahoma State where Aikman ended up.
“I had always planned on going to Oklahoma State,” Aikman said. “They were running the pro-style offense, and Oklahoma was still in the wishbone even though they said they were going to the I with Marcus Dupree and they were going to throw the ball. That’s why they were recruiting me.”
On his trip to Stillwater, Aikman told Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson that he was going to Oklahoma State. Aikman made it known his whole senior year that he was going to be a Cowboy but decided to still take his official visit to Oklahoma.
Johnson tried talking Aikman out of it, but he decided to go and enjoy the spectacle. Aikman admits he got caught up in it.
“Because I came from such a small high school, I wasn’t certain that I could play quarterback at that level,” Aikman said. “I wasn’t confident to say that I was good enough to compete at that level but I was good enough to play somewhere. Whether it’s safety, tight end, lineman, I’ll figure it out and start somewhere.
…I also wanted to win. At Oklahoma State, you weren’t going to win the conference, and you certainly weren’t going to win a national title. At Oklahoma, you had the chance to do all that.”
Aikman ultimately decided on Oklahoma and, after a week, said he knew he could play quarterback at that level. He spent two seasons at Oklahoma before transferring to UCLA in 1987.
Following two standout years with the Bruins, the Cowboys selected Aikman with the first pick in the 1989 NFL Draft.
Oct 24, 1987; Pasadena, CA, USA: UCLA Bruins quarterback Troy Aikman (8) in action against the California Golden Bears during the 1987 season at the Rose Bowl. (Long Photography-USA TODAY Sports)
Along with not getting to play with two future NFL Hall of Fame running backs in Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders, Aikman also stated that he turned down Jimmy Johnson twice before the two finally paired up in Dallas.
“He recruited me again to Miami when I was leaving Oklahoma and I turned him down twice,” Aikman said. “If I had signed with Oklahoma State, I would have never played for Jimmy because right after National Signing Day, Jimmy became the head coach at Miami. I don’t feel so bad for turning him down because he wasn’t going to be there anyway.”
Coming out of college, Aikman heard rumors of an oil guy from Arkansas buying the Cowboys and that he was going to hire Johnson as their next head coach.
He would go on to play for Johnson and Barry Switzer, his former coach at Oklahoma, before calling it a career in 2000.
“It’s just been one big groundhog day for me for most of my athletic career,” Aikman joked.
Watch the full interview below: