Friends Remember Jimbo Elrod After Fatal Car Crash

Former OU football standout Jimbo Elrod was killed early Monday morning in a car crash. 

Troopers are still investigating the cause of the crash, while friends remembered the powerhouse player with a big heart. 

Elrod played for the Sooners from 1973 to 1975, and was a part of the '74 and '75 national championship teams. 

He later played four years in the NFL, three with the Kansas City Chiefs and one with the Houston Oilers. 

Just a few years ago, News 9 spoke with him as he was going to Afghanistan to cheer up the troops 

"I played football 30 years ago and I still sign autographs, but these guys here, they're the ones that deserve all the credit," Elrod said at the time.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol says Elrod, 62, lost control of his car on Interstate 44 near Chandler, just before four in the morning. He was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the car. 

"The vehicle went off the roadway to the right," said trooper Dwight Durant. “The driver attempted to steer back left. Get back on the roadway. After, he went right he went past the guardrail, so now he's on the opposite side of the guardrail. When he came back left he goes back into the backside of the guardrail and that causes the vehicle to flip several times."

Elrod’s wife, a passenger in the car, was seriously hurt. Authorities say the car smelled of alcohol. They’re investigating whether alcohol or speed played a role in the crash.

News 9 Sports Director Dean Blevens played with Elrod. He said the only thing bigger than Elrod’s personality was his heart.

"I remember the last time he called about one of our teammates that was going to take his life and wanted me to get involved with it," Blevens said. “He was just one of those guys that was involved. He was engaged in life. He wasn't a passerby. He really lived life."

And, Blevins said, that’s what makes this so hard.

"Just knowing the big old kid isn't around anymore. Jimbo Elrod was just a big old kid in an aging man's body. Jimbo was a teammates' teammate. He was a man's man," Blevins said. "Man, he will be missed.  He ... he was a special cat."