In each new issue of Sooner Spectator, we ask legendary coach Barry Switzer to share his opinion on any number of topics, ranging from football to food to his favorite anecdotes. In this installment of King's Corner, Coach talks about the late Mike Gaddis, Coach "Bear" Jensen and Lincoln Riley.

Sooner Spectator: What has impressed you the most about Lincoln Riley during his time at the University of Oklahoma?

Barry Switzer: From a football standpoint, I love his offense and I love his play-calling. Overall, he's very approachable, very engaging -- basically everything you want in a head coach. He's young and enthusiastic, articulate and he's confident in the things he does. Bob (Stoops) saw those qualities and that's why he brought him to Oklahoma. And Coach Riley was ready -- not only as an offensive coordinator but to be a head coach. He's definitely going places. And when I say that, I don't mean places other than OU. I believe he's going places as far as winning championships and maintaining Oklahoma as one of the elite programs in the country.

SS: Former all-conference lineman and hall of fame coach Lester "Bear" Jensen passed away recently. How well did you know Coach Jensen?

Switzer: I've known Bear for more than 50 years, ever since I came to Oklahoma. He was coach at Cameron when I was coaching OU, and he used to come to our coach's clinics and he'd be here on campus at times and spend time at our coaches' offices. I always appreciated Bear and thought he was one of the good guys in this business. I always liked Bear. I really didn't get to see him coaching much because I was always working on those days, too. But he had a reputation as being a great football coach. He always had good teams in college and at the high school level. When he retired and moved to Norman a few years ago, I would run into him or see him on occasion. He'd drop by to say hi. I always enjoyed visiting with him -- a real gentleman.

Sooner Spectator: We also lost former OU running back Mike Gaddis recently at age 50. Do you have a favorite memory of Mike?

Switzer: Oh, my gosh. I went back and looked at film on Mike, and was reminded of just how great he was. I didn't get to see him play a lot after I left in 1988, which was his freshman year with us, and he was a starter for us. He was 6-2, 225 and could run a 4.5 forty. He was recruited by every program in America. I was worried he was going to Southern Cal because they were really selling him hard on coming out there. Us getting him was a big deal. But my favorite memory from that 1988 season was going up to the OSU ballgame and all of talk was about Barry Sanders who was on his way to leading the nation in rushing and winning the Heisman. Not only did we win that game, but Mike stole the show with his great performance. First time he touched the ball, he goes 53 yards for a touchdown to give us a 7-0 lead. By the end of the game, Mike had about 10 less carries than Barry did and almost as many yards. I believe Sanders finished with about 215 yards and Mike had something like 208. You could tell then that he was going to be a great running back at Oklahoma.
The year after I left, he was having an incredible season with OU before he hurt his knee. That was truly tragic because he was going to be a true superstar. Showed a lot of courage to come back like he did and play at a high level again.

(Editor's Note: This story appears in the 2019 August Kickoff Issue of Sooner Spectator. To read more or subscribe, all (405) 555-0182)