When the question was posed to Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops earlier this season, he didn’t duck it, but said it was too early to say.

But as the Sooners were preparing to face Missouri for the Big 12 championship, Stoops decided the time was right to give his opinion on where Sam Bradford ranks among the quarterbacks he’s coached.

First.

There really isn’t any question after what Bradford’s done during his sophomore season.

In just 27 games as OU’s starting quarterback, just about every career passing record belongs to him. His 84 touchdown passes and 7,585 yards are both unmatched.

But his sophomore season has become legendary in its own time. Running the most explosive offensive in college football to unforeseen heights, he has thrown 48 touchdown passes and led OU to its third straight Big 12 championship and into the national championship for the first time since 2004.

“Everything goes through Sam,” wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias said. “The way he’s handled this offense, and the way we changed it to no huddle, he’s doing a great job. You can’t ask for more than what he’s done for this team. And you can’t ask for him to be more of a better leader than he is. He’s just been doing a great job for us. I think he’s one of the best out there.”

Bradford prefers to duck the compliments like unblocked blitzers. Even Stoops’ pronouncement caught him off guard.

“That’s a huge compliment to hear that. It means a lot, but there are still a lot of things that we need to accomplish this season,” he said. “Obviously, coach (Josh) Heupel was able to win a national championship. Jason White was able to play in a couple of national championships. I feel like I have yet to do that, so there are a lot of things that I need to do before I can be considered with those guys.”

At OU, every player, and especially quarterbacks, are judged by what they win. Those six Big 12 championships have been won by five different quarterbacks. But the dynamic duo was always thought to be Heupel and White because of the magical seasons they enjoyed.

Heupel didn’t win the Heisman Trophy, but he won everything else in 2000, including the Sooners’ seventh national championship. White won everything but a national championship in 2003 and 2004.

Bradford’s case has been different.

Heupel was a junior college transfer who led the Sooners back to prominence his junior and senior seasons. White first started a game in 2001, but had his biggest seasons as a fifth- and sixth-year senior.

Bradford, a redshirt sophomore, is still a pup by comparison.

That’s what amazes his coach.