Norris Athletic Trophy was an annual award given to the best Longhorn athlete during the late 1920’s to the middle 1930’s.  Ed Olle , Ox Higgins, Tommy Hughes , Nona Rees,  and Ox Emerson  were winners of this trophy presented by the Norris Candy company.  In later years Ed Olle coached the basketball team, acted as business manager for the athletic department, was a football official, and one of the best football scouts in the country.  The “Cactus” says that Ed was an authority on the fundamentals of all sports

• To qualify for this award prospective recipient must pass 70 per cent of his scholastic work during the year;

• Three candidates each year were chosen by the “T” Association and sanctioned by the chairman of the Athletic Council.

• The three candidates are placed on the ballot and the winner receives the most votes.

1933

1934 

Major honors

Heisman Trophy
Most Outstanding Player

Earl Campbell – 1977

Not only is Earl a Heisman winner as of 2007, but he is also one of only eight men who has been honored with the Heisman award and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame; He is the only person who literally knocked 1200- pound Bevo to the ground on a run. In 1981 , Earl Campbell was enshrined by the Texas legislature as an Official State Hero, joining only Crockett, Austin and Houston.

From Rick Inghram.

Billy, just an FYI, Brad Shearer and three other All-American linemen were invited because the Heisman ceremony was televised live for the 1st time. The Heisman committee added other category awards before the Heisman Trophy Award. Earl invited me because his Mom had refused to fly commercial, and Earl had two tickets. Lucky me!

Earl didn’t know his Mom would be there; you should have seen his face when he saw her at the pre-ceremony, and boy, did that add pressure to him. He cried in the bathroom with me, so worried he would let his Mom down. Mrs. Campbell was there only because Joe Jamail and Coach Royal talked her into going on his private jet, where she would be more comfortable in his big customized seats.

The story of Earl, the Heisman, and the Eyes of Texas.

The quote below in blue font is from Echoes of Texas Football- The Greatest Stories Ever Told

1977 was the first year the Heisman Trophy Award was presented in the Academy Awards style. Several sports awards were given that night, with various appearances made by famous sports athletes such as Reggie Jackson and OJ Simpson.

The event was incredibly flashy and was televised nationwide. It seemed as if the moment would never come. But finally, Reggie Jackson took the stage to announce the winner of the best running back in the nation. Earl Campbell hoped that his name would not be called for this award as he thought it would take him out of the running for the Heisman. Reggie opened the envelope and said the winner for the best running back was Earl Campbell from the University of Texas! The audience roared in cheer and applause, but Earl stumbled to the stage in shock. This wasn’t what he had come to New York for. He muttered words of thanks into the microphone after he accepted the award.

Broken-hearted Earl headed backstage and attempted to return to his seat. While backstage, a voice said,” You better get back to your seat. There will be another important award to be given out.” At that time, Earl did not realize that the voice belonged to OJ Simpson. As Earl slowly walked back to the seat, Brad Shearer and Rick Ingram, disappointed, began encouraging Earl.

Earl was not paying much attention when Jay Berwranger said over the loudspeaker, and now we’ve been waiting for the award for the most outstanding college football player in America goes to Earl Campbell. Before Earl knew it, he was being slapped on the back by his friends and was being hugged.

He began to make his way up to the podium and asked the orchestra to play THE EYES OF TEXAS. He was at a loss for words as he looked out over the audience and felt a chill go through his body as he clutched the bronze statue. He concluded his acceptance speech by saying I will represent what a Heisman trophy winner should be.” Thank you very much.” With those words, Coach Royal instantly knew Earl’s hard work and dedication were because of one person: His mother, Anna Campbell.

Earl Campbell was much more than a football player. He Combined talent and heart with a casual and comfortable personality to earn the undying affection of the fans. True legends have more than talent. Legends know how to capture the hearts of the fans.

Earl was a player for the masses. Brought up in poverty with a loving family, he used his talent to inspire all those fans who chose in spirit to help him win the Heisman.  

When Earl Campbell showed up out of shape for training camp and could not complete a mile run, a reporter asked the Houston Oilers coach what he was going to do about it. Bum Phillips said, “When it’s 3rd and a mile, we won’t run him”!

Ricky Williams – 1998

Ricky Williams left the University of Texas with 46 school records and 21 NCAA marks. More comments are pending.

In the book “Echoes of Texas Football- The Greatest Stories Ever Told” the comment is made that “Ricky Williams is wildly popular. After his final spring football game, he is mobbed afterward by children and adults of all ages in the record crowd of 21,000 people. As Williams retreats from the stadium’s North End zone after an hour-long autograph signing session, the cluster around him appears like a mammoth centipede. He looked like a rock star being escorted off stage.”

Texas football sports information director John Bianco said, “he’s the only person I know who can say nothing and have charisma.”

Maxwell Award
Best Football Player

 Walter Camp Award
Player of the Year

Chic Harley Award

College Football Player of the Year

Archie Griffin Award
Most Valuable Player

Colt McCoy’s passing and scoring records

• Most passing yards in a single game -470 in 2009

• Most passing yards in a season – 3859 in 2008

• Most passing yards in a career- 13,253

• Most wins in a career- 45

• Most touchdowns in a single game by a quarterback – 6 vs Baylor in 2006

• Most touchdowns in a year – 34 in 2009

• Most touchdowns in a career – 112 2006-2009

AT&T ESPN All-America Player
Fans Most Valuable Player

AP Player of the Year

Most Outstanding Player

It was always said that the Cotton Bowl was the house that Doak Built.

Ricky Williams wore three different numbers while at Texas. He was assigned #11 when he arrived, followed by #34 (his high school number) when it became available. Major Applewhite got jersey #11. In 1998 Ricky was given the ok to wear Doak Walkers number 37 for the O.U. game to honor Doak after his death.

SN Player of the Year
Top Collegiate Football Player

UPI Player of the Year
NCAA Coaches Player of the Year

Freshman of the Year
Top Quarterback

University honors

Retired Jersey Numbers
University Honor

Bobby Layne (#22) – 1944–1947

Tommy Nobis (#60) – 1963–1965

Earl Campbell (#20) – 1974–1977

Ricky Williams (#34) – 1995–1998

Vince Young (#10) – 2003–2005

Colt McCoy (#12) – 2006–2009

Offensive honors

Doak Walker Award
Best Running Back

Ricky is the only two time winner of the Doak Walker award as of 2020.

Jim Brown Trophy
Top Running Back

     Paul Warfield Trophy top wide receiver- jordan shipley
                                                             

Jordan Shipley – 2009

Davey O’Brien Award
Best Quarterback

 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award
Outstanding Senior Quarterback

Manning Award
Best Quarterback

Vince Young is the only quarterback in UT history to earn consensus first-team All-American honors and is the only quarterback in NCAA history to rush for 1000 yards and pass for 3,000 in the same season.

Quarterback of the Year
Top Quarterback

Coaching Honors

AFCA Award
Coach of the Year

Eddie Robinson -Coach of the Year- DKR – 1961 and 1963

SN National Coach of the Year

 Paul “Bear” Bryant Award
Coach of the Year

 Bobby Dodd Award
Coach of the Year

Broyless Award
Best Assistant Coach

 AFCA Award
Assistant Coach of the Year

Defensive honors

Lombardi Award
Best Defensive Player

 Nagurski Trophy
Top Defensive Player

01.09.2023 | Football TexasSports.com

Derrick Johnson- One of the all-time great Longhorns, is going into the College Football Hall of Fame.  From the Texas Sports article: 

A two-time First Team All-American, consensus in 2003 and unanimous in 2004, Johnson put together a career for the ages, claiming the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as nation’s top defender in 2004. He finished 12th in Heisman Trophy voting and as a finalist for the Bednarik, Lombardi and Lott IMPACT awards in 2004. His nine forced fumbles that season place him in a tie for No. 1 in NCAA history for a single season. He was also named the 2004 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and 2004 Big 12 Male Athlete of the Year. In 2003, he became the Longhorns’ first consensus First Team All-America linebacker since 1983; was one of three finalists for the Butkus Award; and was named the team MVP. In 2001, he was tabbed the Sporting News National Freshman of the Year, a First-Team Freshman All-American and Big 12 Co-Defensive Freshman of the Year. 

I wish I had a recording of Rod Babers and Will Matthews talking about Derrick at the RBI Austin – Texas football preview lunch a couple of weeks ago.  I was laughing, hard, at how they described how incredibly good Derrick Johnson was from the moment he stepped on The Forty Acres.  My best summary of my recollection:  some guys just don’t have to be coached.  “The coaches start explaining what you are supposed to do, and they blow the whistle, and then DJ goes and does what he does, and it is better than what the coaches are trying to coach. So just do your thing Derrick.”  A truly natural, gifted athlete and football player.

https://texassports.com/news/2023/8/30/football-derrick-johnson-set-for-sept-2-nff-hall-of-fame-on-campus-salute-presented-by-fidelity-investments.aspx

OutLand Trophy

Top Interior Lineman

Dick Butkus Award
Best Linebacker

One of the all-time great Longhorns is Derrick Johnson.  Derrick Johnson is going in the College Football Hall of Fame. 

From the Texas Sports article: 

A two-time First Team All-American, consensus in 2003 and unanimous in 2004, Johnson put together a career for the ages, claiming the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as nation’s top defender in 2004. He finished 12th in Heisman Trophy voting and as a finalist for the Bednarik, Lombardi and Lott IMPACT awards in 2004. His nine forced fumbles that season place him in a tie for No. 1 in NCAA history for a single season. He was also named the 2004 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and 2004 Big 12 Male Athlete of the Year. In 2003, he became the Longhorns’ first consensus First Team All-America linebacker since 1983; was one of three finalists for the Butkus Award; and was named the team MVP. In 2001, he was tabbed the Sporting News National Freshman of the Year, a First-Team Freshman All-American and Big 12 Co-Defensive Freshman of the Year.

 I wish I had a recording of Rod Babers and Will Matthews talking about Derrick at the RBI Austin – Texas football preview lunch a couple of weeks ago.  I was laughing, hard, at how they described how incredibly good Derrick Johnson was from the moment he stepped on The Forty Acres.  My best summary of my recollection:  some guys just don’t have to be coached.  “The coaches start explaining what you are supposed to do, and they blow the whistle, and then DJ goes and does what he does, and it is better than what the coaches are trying to coach. So just do your thing Derrick.”  A truly natural, gifted athlete and football player.

https://texassports.com/news/2023/8/30/football-derrick-johnson-set-for-sept-2-nff-hall-of-fame-on-campus-salute-presented-by-fidelity-investments.aspx

“Watching Derrick Johnson compete for our Texas Longhorns was such a joy,” said Longhorn Legend and College Football Hall of Famer Johnnie Johnson. “He was a tenacious competitor, a truly dominant defender and spectacular player who made big plays from sideline-to-sideline from his linebacker position. DJ was such a critical leader on our defense, played a crucial role in leading our Longhorns to a great deal of success, and on top of that, always represented The University of Texas in a first-class manner. He carried that on to a long and productive career in the NFL.

Jack Lambert Trophy
Top Linebacker

From 2001-04, Johnson played in 50 career games (40 starts) during a four-year stretch that saw the Horns win 11 games three times, at least ten games all four years, and post an overall record of 43-8 (27-5 Big 12). Johnson tallied 458 career tackles (No. 3 on UT’s career list at the time), 280 solo tackles (No. 4), 65 tackles for loss (No. 1), 10.5 sacks, 39 QB pressures, 30 pass breakups (UT record for LBs), nine interceptions (UT record for LBs), 11 forced fumbles (T-No. 3) and five fumble recoveries.

Jim Thorpe Award
Top Defensive Back

Michael Huff

Huff attended the University of Texas at Austin from 2001 to 2005. He was recognized as a unanimous first-team All-American in 2005 and won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back. He had four career interceptions returned for touchdowns, a school record. In the Rose Bowl game against the USC Trojans, Huff recovered a fumbled lateral from Reggie Bush, a play that many credit with changing the game’s momentum and helping the 2005 Texas Longhorns football team win the NCAA National Championship. He also was the key defender who prevented USC running back LenDale White from gaining a first down on a crucial fourth-down-and-two with USC leading late in the 4th quarter.

Ted Hendricks Award

Top Defensive End

Bill Willis Trophy
Top Defensive Lineman

Brian Orakpo- 2008

   UPI Lineman of the Year

Other honors

Draddy Trophy(Academic Heisman)
Best On and Off Field Performance

The Draddy is awarded to the player who best exemplifies the combination of work in the classroom, play on the field, and leadership in the community. The winner receives a $25,000 postgraduate scholarship.

Dallas Griffin was the first Longhorn to win the Draddy Award. and was named to ESPN The Magazines Academic All-American first team.

Rhodes Scholar

In 1933 quarterback Willson H. “Bull” Elkins became the only UT player to win a Rhodes Scholarship.

Elkins served as the president of San Angelo Junior College from 1938 to 1948. He left San Angelo to become president of Texas Western College in El Paso until beginning his tenure at the University of Maryland in 1954.

See link for more on Bull Elkins. https://www.texaslsn.org/bull-elkins

Anson Mount Award honors the nation’s best student-athlete.

 Nils v. “Swede’ Nelson Awards
Best Sportsmanship

Pat Culpepper 1962

Wuerffel Trophy
Athletics, Academics, & Community Service

Today’s Top VIII Award
Outstanding Senior Student-Athletes

Kenneth Sims-1982

Amos Alonzo Stagg Award
Outstanding Service for College Football

Disney Spirit Award
College Football’s Most Inspirational Figure

Bill Little commentary: A place in the Hall — Steve McMichael

 April 30, 2009

Bill Little, Texas Media Relations

If it is as they say — that there is a thin veil between life and death — then somewhere from a place beyond E. V. McMichael is smiling right now.

It has been a long time since that night in 1976 when young Steve McMichael was returning to Austin after starting his very first game as a Texas Longhorn defensive end against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Lubbock. A lot would change that late October night. The night before the game, Darrell Royal would confide to some close associates that he likely would retire as the Texas head football coach following the season.

Earl Campbell, the star of the team, would re-injure a hamstring and would miss the next four games in what would turn out to be a 5-5-1 season. For Steve McMichael, a sturdy young freshman from Freer who had been considered for the tight end position, his first start as a Longhorn had ended in a 31-28 loss to the Red Raiders.

But that night — October 30, 1976 — young Steve would learn the difference between the game of football and the reality of life. That night, E. V. McMichael, an oil field superintendent, was shot to death outside his home in South Texas.

In the years that would follow, Steve would stick with the game E. V. had helped teach him. Where it was football that had brought him to The University of Texas, it would be Steve’s drive and dedication that would carry him to the greatest heights of the game.

That is why, on Wednesday, when Steve McMichael was announced as the Texas Longhorns’ 15th player and 17th overall inductee (including coaches D. X. Bible and Darrell Royal) into the National Football Foundation’s College Hall of Fame, you have to figure there was a loud cheer somewhere beyond the sky.

“I will never be able to thank The University of Texas enough for what it did for me during that time,” McMichael recalled from his home in Chicago, where he was a star in the NFL for the Bears and is now the head coach of the arena league Chicago Slaughter. “My ‘old man’ put me on the road, but if it hadn’t have been for Texas, I have no idea where I would be right now.”

McMichael joins a class that includes, among others, Tim Brown of Notre Dame, Major Harris of West Virginia, Chris Spielman of Ohio State, Curt Warner of Penn State, Gino Torretta of Miami and Grant Wistrom of Nebraska.

There were those, during his playing days at Texas, who would swear that McMichael was the poster boy for the old cartoon showing a grizzled guy with a menacing look with the take off on the Bible scripture saying, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil…’cause I am the meanest dude in the valley.”

Back at Texas Tech his junior year, when the Red Raiders’ spirit group came to the airport and rolled out a red carpet, McMichael and his fellow tackle Bill Acker took one look at the welcome gesture, then pushed through the red-and-black clad students and walked around the carpet. Texas won the next day, 24-7.

His senior year in 1979, as part of perhaps the best defense in Texas history (it allowed an average of only nine points per game), McMichael personally dominated the 1978 Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims in the Longhorns’ 16-7 victory over the Sooners. Sims gained only 73 yards on 20 carries, and McMichael registered 13 tackles — nine against the running game.

McMichael totaled 133 tackles during his senior season, and posted 369 tackles, 30 sacks, 40 tackles behind the line, 99 quarterback pressures and 11 caused fumbles during his career as a Longhorn.

In the NFL, McMichael’s name would become famous in Chicago, where he would help lead the Bears to some of their greatest moments, including a Super Bowl win in the 1985-86 season. Drafted and later cut by the New England Patriots in 1980, McMichael rebounded to become a two-time Pro Bowler in Chicago. He played 14 years in the league, retiring in 1994 after a final season with Green Bay. He set a Bears’ record by playing in 191 consecutive games, and during his career he registered 95 sacks and played in 213 NFL games.

He then took a spin as a professional wrestler before retiring in 1999. In 2001, he returned to Chicago where he has hosted the Chicago Bears pre- and postgame shows on the local ESPN radio affiliate.

His Chicago Slaughter Professional Arena team is 7-0 and has clinched the Western Division of the Continental Indoor Football League, doing so with a 78-25 victory over Milwaukee last Saturday.

A member of the Longhorn Hall of Honor, the Texas High School Sports Hall of Fame and the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, McMichael is involved in numerous charities, most notably the Fisher House Foundation and other organizations that support wounded soldiers and their families.

McMichael becomes the second member of his Longhorn era to be inducted into the NFF Hall of Fame, joining safety Johnnie Johnson, who was enshrined in 2007. Upon his induction during the December festivities in New York, Johnson allowed that he would have made a lot more tackles, had McMichael not made them all before they could get into the secondary.

“I can tell you this,” McMichael said Wednesday. “I will be wearing orange. There is no way to describe how much this means, or how thankful I am to all of the people who helped me at Texas. All I can say is, ‘Hook ’em!'”

It is a long way from Freer, Texas, to the ballroom of the storied Waldorf Astoria in New York City. The years perhaps have dulled the pain of that night so very long ago that changed the life of a young freshman. But when Steve McMichael, his wife and new baby girl celebrate that moment in the grand old hotel, there will be a lot of pride in a lot of places, seen and unseen.

Because, you see, in his playing time at Texas and at Chicago, many people saw the tough exterior of a man carved from the dust of the land and the steel of the spirit. But what drove Steve McMichael was a wry smile that reflected someone who could see the fun side of life, even in the hard times. It was paired with a fierce determination and an unbending drive of competition.

Most of all, it was about matters of the heart — the kind which fought undaunted, perhaps bloody, but always unbowed.

Texas Sports Hall of Fame

Below is a list of the top 25 running backs in Texas football history, ranked by all-time rushing total:

1. Ricky Williams – 6,279 yards, 72 touchdowns

2. Cedric Benson – 5,540 yards, 64 touchdowns

3. Earl Campbell – 4,443 yards, 40 touchdowns

4. Jamaal Charles – 3,328 yards, 36 touchdowns

5. Chris Gilbert – 3,231 yards, 28 touchdowns

6. Vince Young – 3,127 yards, 37 touchdowns

7. Roosevelt Leaks – 2,923 yards, 26 touchdowns

8. A.J. Jones – 2,874 yards, 27 touchdowns

9. D’Onta Foreman – 2,782 yards, 20 touchdowns

10. Malcolm Brown – 2,678 yards, 24 touchdowns

11. Eric Metcalf – 2,661 yards, 23 touchdowns

12. Jonathan Gray – 2,607 yards, 17 touchdowns

13. Hodges Mitchell – 2,572 yards, 19 touchdowns

14. Adrian Walker – 2,473 yards, 17 touchdowns

15. Phil Brown – 2,102 yards, 16 touchdowns

16. Darron Norris – 2,079 yards, 12 touchdowns

17. Marty Akins – 1,963 yards, 26 touchdowns

18. Jim Bertelsen – 1,770 yards, 20 touchdowns

19. Shon Mitchell – 1,725 yards, 14 touchdowns

20. Selvin Young – 1,713 yards, 25 touchdowns

21. John Walker – 1,641 yards, 17 touchdowns

22. Darryl Clark – 1,604 yards, 3 touchdowns

23. Colt McCoy – 1,571 yards, 20 touchdowns

24. Cody Johnson – 1,455 yards, 36 touchdowns

25. Donnie Little – 1,306 yards, 11 touchdowns