IN MEMORY
Berry Tramel remembers the life and career of former OU player Mike Gaddis
Mike Gaddis died Monday at age 50. The news shocked Sooner Nation. So did the age. Gaddis was 50 years old? Time is undefeated.
Gaddis' death ignited the what-if game. What if Gaddis' knee hadn't blown against Texas in 1989, when his career, his season and his game were on a robust path.
Was a Heisman Trophy in his future? A glorious pro career? Anything seemed possible on October 14, 1989. By early third quarter that day in the Cotton Bowl, Gaddis had 1,382 rushing yards in 1- 1/2 seasons as a Sooner, 829 yards in that sophomore season alone and 130 yards on just 14 carries that day against the Longhorns.
“Mike Gaddis could have been one of the very, very best,” said Cale Gundy, who eventually became Gaddis' OU quarterback. “If he could have stayed healthy, there's no telling what could have happened.”
But it's wrong to get high-center on what-if with Gaddis. Better to focus on what-was. Gaddis' football career is not one of lament. Not one of regret. Gaddis' football career should be hailed not for
what he didn't do, but for what he did do.
Jason White always will be the poster child of Oklahoma football perseverance. Not without reason. After two catastrophic knee injuries, White remade himself into a different kind of quarterback and finished first and third in back-to-back Heisman Trophy voting.
But before White was Gaddis. The patriarch of Sooner comebacks.
Gaddis was great on both sides of the knee injury that sidelined him for 1- 1/2 seasons. Different kinds of great. The Gaddis who dueled Barry Sanders in 1988 Bedlam with 213 yards on 18 carries did so with glides and cuts and speed. He was compared to Billy Sims in taking the national rushing lead midway through the 1989 season.
But the Gaddis who in 1991 rushed for 1,241 yards on 221 carries did so with muscle and timing and determination. Instead of juking defenders and gliding to running room, Gaddis bounced off linebackers and made five yards when maybe only three seemed available.
The thoroughbred had become a workhorse. The comparisons to alltime greats were over. But Gaddis has overcome extreme doubt to prove that he still could play. It was a testimony to perseverance.
Perhaps only Gaddis and White share the top podium on extreme makeovers. White was an agile, darting quarterback with great potential when he went down against Nebraska in 2001. After a second torn knee ligament in 2002, White remade himself into a stationary pocket passer and finished first and third in Heisman Trophy votes.
White's career was considered finished in 2002. Same as Gaddis' after he missed 1- 1/2 seasons. But Gaddis' transformation might have been even more impressive, because he was great before the injury. Maybe not Billy Sims great. Maybe not Adrian Peterson great. But still, an epic tailback. White still was finding himself as a quarterback (four starts) when he suffered the second ACL tear.
Despite the 16 games missed because of that injury, Gaddis finished his career with 2,622 yards, 14th-best in OU history. Among homegrown Sooner tailbacks, only Billy Vessels and Steve Owens clearly rank above Gaddis.
Yes, without that injury in the Cotton Bowl, Gaddis might have risen to their level. But Gaddis' career should not be lamented. It should be celebrated.