When you think of college football transfers, many recent memories spring to mind. Thanks to the dawn of the transfer portal era, we’re now seeing some of the nation’s most talented plays making and finding new schools year after year. Guys like Caleb Williams, Jordan Addison, Quinn Ewers and Eli Ricks are all some of the most talented players in the nation and all will be playing for new teams this fall.
However, college football transfers were a big deal before the portal existed. If you look back into the game’s history, you’ll see that some of the biggest names have moved around a bit, looking for new schools to match perfectly with.
QB Roger Staubach? He transferred to the Navy from the New Mexico Military Institute. WR Randy Moss went from Notre Dame to Florida State, then to Marshall. DE JJ Watt recently relocated to Wisconsin from Central Michigan.
The point is, college football transfers are nothing new; they were simply facilitated through the portal. To show this, On3 recently put together an ‘all-time, all-transfer’ team to show the best players in the history of the sport how to find a new team.
For the Oregon Ducks, there’s a legend who made the cut. The OG Duck fans will know him well and the younger generation will be smart to seek him out.
His name is Dave Wilcox and he’s one of the best linebackers the Ducks have ever played.
Wilcox only played two seasons (1963, 1964) in Oregon after transferring from Boise Junior College, but made such an impression in those two years that he was inducted into the Oregon Ducks Hall of Fame in 1993. Wilcox earned the LB spot on On3’s all-time list. Here’s what they had to say about the Oregon legend:
Wilcox played at Boise JC (now Boise State) for two years and was a Junior College All-American before moving to Oregon. As with Tippett, he was a collegiate defensive end who was promoted to outside linebacker in the NFL. He played 11 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers and was known for both his physical game and high football IQ. Wilcox was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000. His son Justin also played in Oregon and is the head coach in California.
With the 49ers, Wilcox made it to 7 Pro Bowls and was named First-Team All-Pro three times. If you compile a list of some of the greatest Oregon players of all time, it’s a foregone conclusion that you’ll find Wilcox there.
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