Former University of Oklahoma football Coach Barry Switzer will formally present former OU quarterback JC Watts during the 92nd Oklahoma Hall of Fame Class banquet and induction ceremony at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City on November 21.

Watts is one of eight outstanding Oklahomans who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the event. The others include James Day, Tricia Everest, Gray Frederickson, John Herrington, Steve Largent, John Nickel and the late Choctaw Chief Allen Wright/Kiliahote, who will be inducted posthumously.

Each of the honorees selected the individual that they wanted to formally present them during the ceremony.

It isn’t surprising that Watts, a Eufaula native, chose Switzer, himself a member of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, to be his presenter.

Watts was Switzer’s quarterback during the 1979 and 1980 seasons, during the heyday of the legendary coach’s 16-year career at OU.

As quarterback, Watts led the Sooners to back-to-back victories at the Orange Bowl in ‘79 and ‘80.

In ‘79 OU had a record of 11-1 and in ‘80 their record was 10-2.

After leaving OU, Watts was drafted by the New York Jets but opted to sign with the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League. After five seasons, leading the Rough Riders to Canada’s Super Bowl—the Grey Cup—and being named MVP, Watts returned to Oklahoma and began a career in business.

In 1994 he was elected to serve the 4th Congressional District of Oklahoma in the U. S. House of Representatives and four years later was elected by his peers to serve as chairman of the Republican Conference.

After eight years in Congress, Watts became president of Mustang Equipment, the first African-American owned John Deere Dealership and began writing.

Other presenters

- Former U.S. Senator and practicing physician will present Steve Largent, NFL Hall of Famer and former Congressman and CEO.

- Film director, producer, screenwriter, film composer and vintner Francis Ford Coppola, will present Gray Frederickson for induction. Frederickson is an OSCAR, Academy and Emmy award-winning producer.

- Mike Cawley, former attorney and president, CEO and Trustee of The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc., will present James C. Day, who spent 14 years at ONEOK and 30 years at Noble Corporation, where he served as Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and President.

- Christy Everest, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Oklahoma Publishing Company and 2004 Oklahoma Hall of Fame Inductee, will present her daughter Tricia Everest for induction. Tricia has worked with community leaders in the fields of criminal justice, mental health and the arts to create pathways for children to overcome trauma and adverse childhood experiences.

- Dave Whitlock, a former research chemist turned artist, author and preservationist, will present John Nickel, who, at the age of 22, established Greenleaf Nursery Company Wholesale on Lake Tenkiller. Today, Greenleaf is one the nation’s largest wholesale producers of shrubs and trees with locations in Oklahoma, Texas and North Carolina.

- Bill Moore, journalist and author of Oklahomans and Space and current President of the Stafford Air & Space Museum Board, will present John Herrington, a retired United States Naval Aviator, Naval Test Pilot and NASA astronaut.

- Choctaw Chief Allen Wright (Kiliahote) will be inducted posthumously. Wright served as Chief of the Choctaw Nation from 1866 to 1870 and was an accomplished civic and religious leader. He may be best known for suggesting the name Oklahoma for the new territory during his role as lead negotiator of the Choctaw-Chickasaw Treaty of 1866.