Just across the street from Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium is one statue after another to commemorate the Heisman Trophy Award winners for Oklahoma.

The award has essentially become who is the best offensive skill player in the country. But when you think about the Sooners, you can’t forget defense.

And when you think of OU, the first family of the football program might as well be the Selmon family from Eufaula, Okla.

The three brothers, Lee Roy, Lucious and Dewey, were honored Saturday afternoon with a statue unveiling just ahead of OU’s game vs. Kansas State.

It’s the three brothers depicted in 7,000 pounds of bronze, but it was a whole Selmon and OU family reunion with the likes of legendary coaches Barry Switzer and Bob Stoops and numerous past legends in attendance to honor and celebrate.

“What Sooner Nation has done here today is beyond measure,” Dewey Selmon said.

OU president Joe Harroz, athletic director Joe Castiglione, Switzer and the Selmon brothers spoke to the crowd. Lee Roy, who died in 2011, was represented at the podium by his son, Lee Roy Jr.

“Today means so much to me, so much to my uncles,” Lee Roy Jr. said. “I’m just so happy today.”

Anyone that knows OU history, knows about the Selmon family, but their accomplishments cannot be overstated.

They were dominating the defensive line at OU from 1971-75, and OU had a 54-3-1 overall record that included four Big Eight championships and two national championships.

In 1973, the trio made history with all three of them starting for OU’s defensive line.

“They changed the game,” Castiglione said.

Switzer was greeted by fans chanting “Barry, Barry, Barry,” and when he thinks of the Selmon brothers, he said Garth Brooks comes to mind.

The song “Unanswered Prayers” always pops up for Switzer because it was pure accident, he said, that Lucious became the first of the three to end up in Norman.

After a late decommitment in the cycle, the Sooners took a chance on an unknown in Selmon. The rest, as they say, is history.

“This statue represents the Sooner Spirit,” Harroz said.

Lucious starred at OU from 1971-73 and as a senior was named Chevrolet/ABC National Defensive Player of the Year, Big Eight Conference Athlete of the Year and Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year. He was selected by the New England Patriots in the 1974 NFL Draft and returned to OU as an assistant coach (1976-94) before coaching in the NFL.

Dewey and Lee Roy arrived as freshmen in 1972 and went on to earn All-America honors in 1974 and '75 when the Sooners went a combined 21-1. Lee Roy, who won the 1975 Outland Trophy and Lombardi Award, was a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete in 1975 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988.

Lee Roy was the No. 1 overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1976 NFL Draft and was joined on the Buccaneers by Dewey, who was the first pick of the second round the same year. Lee Roy, who later served as athletics director at South Florida, was a five-time NFL All-Pro selection and made six consecutive Pro Bowls.

He was also the 1979 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1995. Dewey played seven years in the NFL between the Buccaneers and San Diego Chargers, and was an All-Pro in 1979. All three Selmons were inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.

All three graduated from OU with honors.

Lucious, Lee Roy and Dewey combined for 96 starts at OU, 915 tackles, 96 tackles for loss and 16 fumble recoveries.

“I love you. My family loves you. All the love you give, we are giving right back,” Dewey said.