Scott WrightThe Oklahoman
STILLWATER — Matt Monger was teammates with some of the greatest defensive ends in football during his college and professional career that spanned from 1980-90.
At Oklahoma State, he teamed with Dexter Manley, who Monger describes as a “genetic freak,” because of his incomparable athletic ability.
With the New York Jets, Monger shared the field with Mark Gastineau, who held the NFL’s single-season sacks record for more than a decade and “may have been the greatest outside speed rusher of all time,” Monger said.
Then with the Buffalo Bills, Monger was teammates with Bruce Smith, who is still the league’s all-time sacks leader.
And then there’s Leslie O’Neal, who was Monger’s teammate at Oklahoma State from 1982-85.
Monger puts O’Neal in a different category — not because of the statistics, which were incredible, or the athletic gifts, which were many.
“He was moldable, he was always trying to improve, and he was always a team player,” Monger said. “That stuff speaks to a guy’s character and integrity. The world sees his 16 sacks in a year, his 34 in a career, three-time All-Big Eight, 14 seasons in the NFL, six Pro Bowls.
“But a man of character, of integrity is one who continues to improve regardless of the level of competition, the surroundings or the situation. A humble man who stayed true to who he was, regardless of the accolades that the world bestowed upon him.”
More: Updating Oklahoma State rankings in college football polls after South Dakota State game
With O’Neal going into OSU’s Ring of Honor on Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium, his former Cowboy teammates — particularly those on the defensive side of the ball — rejoiced with him. And for him.
O’Neal joins a Ring of Honor that saw only offensive players inducted in the first four years of its existence. And all running backs at that — Thurman Thomas, Barry Sanders, Terry Miller and Bob Fenimore.
“The first defensive player going up there,” Thomas said. “That makes it even more special. It’s great that Leslie is finally getting his due.”
O’Neal still holds the OSU record for sacks in a season with 16 and in a career with 34. He was a two-time All-American, the Big Eight Player of the Year and is one of eight OSU representatives in the College Football Hall of Fame.
Yet for all the flash his playing ability generated on the field, he never wavered from the humble and quiet but dedicated teammate he was from the time he showed up at OSU.
When Thomas arrived at OSU as an 18-year-old freshman in 1984, he wanted to learn how to be a college football player, so in his early practices with the Cowboys, he fixated on the star players.
Over and over, Thomas’ eyes kept coming back to O’Neal.
“I was always watching to see how he practiced, how he played the game,” Thomas said. “Watching him and getting to know him at that time in my life taught me a lot.”
More: What was Oklahoma State football's biggest development in win over South Dakota State?
Defensive back Mark Moore had arrived a year earlier, but O’Neal was already established as a central figure within the team.
“He was kind of the father figure of the whole locker room,” Moore said. “You could tell he was a vet, he had been there, was settled in. You were in awe looking at him. He just had that presence about himself.”
O’Neal wasn’t quick to speak, so when he did, his teammates knew it was important.
“In the defensive meeting room, we’d have fun with one another,” Moore said. “But when he got serious, everybody knew it was time to get serious.”
Paul Blair, who was an offensive tackle for the Cowboys in the mid-1980s, saw O’Neal’s talent up close as frequently as anyone.
“We had a lot of great players on that team, especially in 1984 when we had the first 10-win season in Oklahoma State history,” Blair said. “And Leslie was the cream of the crop. We lost to Nebraska that year, but Leslie had a phenomenal game.
“You don’t hear about a defensive end having as many tackles as he had that day (16). Especially against a run-oriented option team, especially against Nebraska in their heyday when the world of college football measured offensive lines by the Nebraska Cornhuskers. But they couldn’t keep up with Leslie that day.”
More: If Alan Bowman can be this good, Oklahoma State football's ceiling is sky high | Mussatto
O’Neal has collected just about every honor he possibly could have, now with the Ring of Honor as his latest tribute. But the men who watched him play in college and the NFL, where he had 136 career sacks over 14 seasons, still think he deserves more.
“Myself and a couple of my teammates — Bruce Smith especially — have been yelling about Leslie getting into the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Thomas said. “The guy had over 130 sacks.
“But the Ring of Honor is a very special moment for Leslie and those of us who played with him couldn’t be happier.”
While O’Neal’s football legacy lives in his numbers, his accomplishments and his accolades, the impact he made on the men around him will outlast even his most grandiose statistics.
“The Ring of Honor? That’s a great accomplishment,” Monger said. “But I don’t care if my son is in the Ring of Honor. I care if my son is like Leslie O’Neal, who maintains the principles that truly made him great.”
