Oklahoma Sooners' football legend Jack Mildren died Thursday of stomach and liver cancer. He was 58, and by every, single account, Mildren was a terrific human being.

It's not one of those passings in which people are kind in public but telling stories in private. No, this guy was by 100 percent of accounts good people.

Yet every diehard Sooners fan and, for that matter, Oklahoman over 35 knows that. Those of us that old at least remember Jack's political career, enough that we knew of him as a public figure beyond the gridiron.

However, this post isn't a tribute to the man. Many people infinitely brighter than I have done that. No, this is a post to every Sooners fan under 35 who might not understand his importance to Oklahoma football, who might not understand why he is revered. Heck, many of the most savvy among us are 25 and younger, and perhaps you don't even know who Mildren was.

That's fine. I'm going to explain it for the youngins and for those who might not even be fans of Oklahoma football.

OU has had three great eras of football: The Bud Wilkinson era, the Barry Switzer era and the current regime under Bob Stoops. Yes, each coach played a big role in making the Sooners great, but the Switzer years in particular were made great even before he took the helm in 1973.

Switz was a coordinator under Chuck Fairbanks, a moderately successful coach of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Think of him like Gary Gibbs. Good but not up to the standards of The Monster. And, if you're not familiar with the term The Monster, you're either really young or not an OU fan at all.

Alas, Chuck's teams weren't faring all that great, generally, even with a recruit from Abilene, Texas, who was supposed to be an all-everything for the Sooners. That recruit would be Jack Mildren, who was the Jason White of his day.

Not the White with hobbled knees. No, think back to Jason before his injuries, when he could run. The Jason White who played in his first OU-Texas game in 2001.

In 1969, however, Mildren was pretty much relegated to handing the ball off to eventual Heisman winner Steve Owens, and while everybody back in the day was totally stoked about Owens winning the big award, they weren't so fond of the 6-4 record (?) that accompanied it.

In 1970, the Sooners were off to another crappy start, and by all accounts, it really looked like Fairbanks would eventually lose his job. Anyway, Chuck and Barry (coordinator Barry) decided to install what they called the Y formation.

The Y formation would later be called the "wishbone," and it was first implemented (I think) by Texas. If they didn't install it first, they sure as heck were the first school to have success with it -- and in the OU-Texas matchup that year, the Longhorns killed us and our new offense, 41-9.

However, Mildren proved to be the perfect QB for this offense. Truth is, the guy was a hell of a passer, and if you've ever seen tape of the 1971 game against Nebraska (usually referred to as the Game of the Century), you'd know that it was Mildren's arm that gave us a chance to win.

I could be way off base here given that I never saw Mildren play, given that I was born in his junior year at OU, but everything I have read and heard about the guy indicates he was very much like Jason White. To be honest, I can't imagine Mildren had a better arm, but in terms of being a double-threat, running and passing, before White's injuries, they couldn't have been more alike.

Relative to success though, what Mildren did to lead a new offense and bring success to OU, success that would last for two decades, by the way, is not unlike what Josh Heupel did when he came to Norman in 1999.

Even though Stoops' offense has become pretty stale in my estimation, do recall that coordinator Mike Leach installed the spread nine years ago. It was wide open. It was crazy. And Heupel was the perfect player to run it.

Thirty-eight years ago, Mildren was that guy. And his success brought OU years and years of wishbone dominance. You've heard of transformational leaders in business single-handedly bringing about positive change? Well, Mildren's ability to adapt to a new offense not only resulted in Oklahoma keeping the wishbone, it led to Barry Switzer getting a head coaching gig and three national titles.

So, while you heard tributes Friday about what a great man Mildren was and what an awesome player he was for the crimson and cream, thinking all the time that he was merely a player your dad or grandpa revered and that his relevance to Oklahoma football doesn't compare to that of signal callers like Heupel and White, you should understand this:

Mildren was loved by Oklahomans for being a great man in real life, but he is adored by Sooners fans worldwide because he was a bad ass on the field. Think of it this way: Mildren played in the NFL. As a defensive back. That's the kind of athlete he was.

That he was able to adapt to a brand new offense and be so successful with it in the middle of his OU career and then play a completely different type of position in the NFL is not only a testament to his athletic ability but also his smarts and competitive nature.

Love Heupel and White, but did either guy go play DB for the Colts? (Editor's Note: For the record, Ryan thinks Josh Heupel is the greatest human being ever to don an OU jersey, possibly ever to walk foot on Oklahoma soil. Inside joke, but more inside than joke.)

Bottom line: Oklahoma had two decades of success and won three national titles because Mildren was so good for two seasons leading a new, experimental offense at OU.

Without Mildren, there probably would have been no Barry Switzer as head coach.

And without Barry, The Monster would not have grown into what it was and is. Heck, without the success that Barry had from 1973-88, our tradition would be something steeped in 1950s nostalgia films.

Seriously, Jack Mildren the football player was a big, big deal.