John Herrera walk-on and letterman 1982

Johnathan Wells says about John Herrera,

Herrera went on to attend the University of Texas and walked on with the Longhorn football team. How long he was with the program and how many games he appeared in is unclear from the records and contemporary news articles I’ve been able to find. His name does not appear on any of the historic online rosters from 1978 to 1982 that are posted on the UT football website. In one of the Austin American-Statesman’s rare mentions of him, he was praised by head coach Fred Akers for his performance in a preseason scrimmage in late August of 1982.4

He was reportedly one of four walk-on players who got onto the field during UT’s 27-0 win over Texas Tech on October 30, 1982.5 The statistics posted on the UT football website for the 1982 season credit Herrera with a forced fumble in the Longhorns’ 50-0 win over Houston on November 6. I have found no other mentions of him through the rest of that season, one in which the Longhorns went 9-3 overall and were ranked as high as eighth in the Associated Press poll, but lost to unranked North Carolina in the Sun Bowl and fell to #17 in the AP’s final rankings.

John Herrera was awarded a varsity letter by the Longhorn program following the 1982 season, becoming the first Judson Rocket to earn that honor. Three others have since done so: running back Chris Samuels (1987-90), linebacker Robert Reed (1992-95), and walk-on defensive back Cody Boswell (2014). For most of the two decades that followed the 1982 season Herrera’s name was included in the All-Time Lettermen lists that were featured in the annual Texas Longhorn football media guides. For example, the picture below is a clipping from the all-time lettermen list in the 1990 media guide.