With a lot of graduation losses,
Stapleton put another powerful Single Wing attack together behind TB Dave
Hoppman who led the nation in total offense with 1648 yards while ranking as
the fourth best rusher with 920. As he did in 1960, he had one monster game,
rushing for a Big Eight record of 271 yards against Kansas State which
produced All America notice. He was led by fine two-way guard Dan Celoni,
an All Big Eight selection, and the result was a 5-5 season mark. One of the
contributing members of the defense was captain and starting safety John
Cooper, an Army veteran who wrote letters to numerous colleges begging for a
tryout upon the completion of his service commitment. Cooper of course went on
to a stellar coaching career at Tulsa, Arizona State, and Ohio State. For the
'61 season, the side numerals were altered, using white three-inch medium
block numerals similar to the traditional style used at Alabama on the gold
helmet shell. The use of the Adams white masks was continued.
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