Here at ClutchPoints we're taking our “greatest players of all time” roadshow on down the road today, this time to Austin, Texas. Texas football is one of the most historic programs in college football history, even with their relative lull in football success over the past decade or so.
All the success they've had for decades and decades has led to some of the greatest players in college football history, let alone Texas history. Let's look at the five greatest Texas Longhorns in the long history of the program.
5. Colt McCoy, Quarterback
The last quarterback to lead Texas to true national championship contention, Colt McCoy was the unfortunate person tasked with leading the Longhorns after the departure of Vince Young who we'll talk about in a little bit. They say there's no harder job in sports than following a legend, and all Colt McCoy did in that situation was finish as the all-time leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns, no big deal.
There's been plenty of discourse about whether Texas football wins the national championship in 2009 if Colt McCoy isn't injured, and they may very well win that game if that was the case, but it's not the way it happened, so we can't give Colt hypothetical bonus points.
4. Tommy Nobis, Guard/Linebacker
Speaking of players who actually did win a national championship, Tommy Nobis was not only one of the greatest Texas Longhorns of all time but one of the final truly great iron man two-way players, starting on both offense and defense for his entire college career.
He was a key cog in the 1963 national championship team that defeated Roger Staubach's Navy in the Cotton Bowl, is widely regarded as one of the best linebackers in college football history, and was just the second of six Texas Longhorns to ever have their number retired by the school, Bobby Layne being the only one of the six who doesn't appear on this list.
3. Ricky Williams, Running Back
Ricky Williams, 1998 Heisman Trophy recipient and all-time leading rusher in Texas football history, had a college career so good that Mike Ditka infamously traded his entire draft to pick Williams at #1 overall in the NFL Draft. Williams was undoubtedly the best running back in college football when he was at Texas, and it wasn't particularly close.
For comparison, while consensus has remained with Bijan Robinson as the best running back in the country, other players like Blake Corum, Quinshon Judkins, Chase Brown, and Mohammed Ibrahim have entered the discussion. Absolutely no one entered the discussion with Ricky Williams.
2. Earl Campbell, Running Back
You might be asking yourself, if Ricky Williams was really that good why is he behind Earl Campbell? The answer to that is simple. Everything Ricky did, Earl did first. All-time leading rusher? Earl still sits 3rd despite being out of college for 45 years. Heisman Trophy? Earl did it 21 years earlier. First overall pick? Earl did that too.
It also helps that Earl Campbell is considered one of the greatest running backs of all time, but for the purposes of this list his pro career is irrelevant. What distinguishes the two is that Earl Campbell set himself apart during an era where running the football was the priority. Everyone had defenses specifically designed to stop the run, and Earl Campbell ran right through them.
1. Vince Young, Quarterback
How could any list of great Texas Longhorns conclude if not with Vince Young? The architect of Texas' 2005 National Championship, and would've been 2005 Heisman Trophy recipient if not for a virtuosic performance by Reggie Bush that year.
One of the most electric college football players to ever lace them up, Vince Young was one of the first quarterbacks in the game to really have magic capabilities on every single play. Any play could see the ball thrown 65 yards for a score, or have Young take off the same distance with his legs. He was truly special in every definition of the word, and there's no other place for him on this list than the top spot and the best player in Texas football history.
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