Eric Dickerson

Background

Dickerson committed to Texas A&M University before reconsidering and deciding amongst the University of Oklahoma, University of Southern California and Southern Methodist University (SMU). His great-grandaunt talked him into staying in the state of Texas to attend SMU because she liked Mustangs coach Ron Meyer. Dickerson was the subject of recruiting controversy when he started driving a new Pontiac Trans Am during his senior year of high school.

According to myth, Dickerson began driving the vehicle about the same time he committed to A&M, and, when he signed with SMU, he purportedly stopped driving the vehicle because it 'had been destroyed by a vengeful Aggie'. Ron Meyer called the car the 'Trans A&M'. At the time, he said his grandmother from Mexico had purchased it for him. Dickerson has refused to answer whether he accepted anything to attend SMU, saying, 'Even if I did take something, I still wouldn't tell.'

He later admitted that SMU paid him $500 or $1000 a month. In 2022, Dickerson admitted that the Trans Am had been paid for by A&M boosters, and that in an attempt to hide the impropriety one of his family members made the purchase and was reimbursed by the boosters. He said he later sold the car to an SMU teammate. Initially, Dickerson shared carries with Craig James and Charles Waggoner, all three blue-chip recruits in 1979.

Waggoner was hurt returning a kickoff their freshman season, leaving Dickerson and James to lead SMU's running attack, called the Pony Express. Dickerson gained 4,450 yards on 790 carries to break Earl Campbell’s Southwest Conference record for yards and attempts. His 48 career touchdowns tied Doak Walker’s SMU total for career scoring. In his senior year, despite splitting time with James, Dickerson finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting, behind Herschel Walker and John Elway. He was also a first-team All-American in 1982 and a second-team All-American in 1981.