Mike Cotten has passed away.

07/17/202404/19/2026

Click on the small white letters “VIEW IN BROWSER” above to enlarge and enhance the photos and text on your cellphone.

UT Football Great, Mike Cotten, Has Passed Away by Larry Carlson https:// texaslsn.org

Mike Cotten, one of the early greats of the early Darrell Royal era, died at his Westlake home on Saturday, following a rief illness. He was 84.

A graduate of Austin High, Cotten played defensive back and was a return man and backup QB as a sophomore for the 9-1 team that then lost to top-ranked Syracuse in the Cotton Bowl. He took the starting quarterback reins for the 1960 and ’61 Longhorn teams and excelled, first for a 7-3-1 team that tied Bear Bryant’s Alabama Crimson Tide in the Bluebonnet Bowl.

as a co-captain of the squad that won eight straight games as a senior. Texas was ranked number one before an upset loss to TCU. Cotten and his teammates bounced back to shut out A&M, 25-0, then beat favored Ole Miss in the Cotton Bowl. Mike was named Offensive MVP of his final game in a Texas uniform. He led the Southwest Conference in touchdown passes and was the All-SWC quarterback on that talented team that featured two All-Americans, halfback Jimmy Saxton and tackle Don Talbert.

Cotten was the key to DKR’s innovative “flip-flop” offense that was the toast of college football in ’61. He was not only a good runner but often led interference for Saxton, Jerry Cook and FB Ray Poage, as a blocker. It’s also well worth noting that – in an era focused on the ground game – Cotten was considered a pin-point passer. His completion rate of 57 percent as a senior was the best mark for accuracy among UT starting quarterbacks until Major Applewhite surpassed that record more than a quarter-century later, in 1998.

While attending law school at UT, Cotten worked with Coach Royal’s football staff as a grad assistant. He then served in the Marine Corps and quarterbacked the Quantico Marines football team. As a Captain in the USMC, Cotten served in Vietnam three years. He returned to Austin and practiced law for many decades. A season ticket holder, Cotten was an ardent supporter of Longhorn football and UT athletics.

He was preceded in death by his wife, and is survived by two daughters.

TLSN has created a link at 2024 – MIKE COTTEN FOOTBALL (squarespace.com) to commemorate his life. Kindly save this link and revisit it later as more information and testimonials are added to honor his life. If you would like to comment, please send it to Billydale1@gmail.com, and it will be added to his site.

TLSN is a 501 (c)(3) Longhorn Sports history educational website with a compassionate component.

Https://texaslsn.org

TLSN is not associated with the UT Athletics Department or any organization closely aligned with UT.

Https://texaslsn.org

2022 | Newsletters

WOO, Dick Hooper, LeDuc’s list , Big-shootout, women Club sports
ByBilly Dale 07/17/202410/27/2024

View in Browser Top of the Que Volume VII Newsletter #19 August 19, 2022 The NIL in 2022 is the new enigmatic marketing version of a tasty round pizza in a square box consumed as a triangle. I hope the NIL delivers a great pizza taste of college football in 2022, no matter the questionable…

Read More WOO, Dick Hooper, LeDuc’s list , Big-shootout, women Club sports
2024 | Newsletters

Mike Brumley’s passing, Zapalacs, Griffin, Kelly , Cox, Jones , two sports
ByBilly Dale 07/17/202410/26/2024

View in Browser 6-21-2024 TLSN Newsletter #13 Volume VIII IMPORTANT: Please click on the white letters shown above, titled “VIEW IN BROWSER,” to enlarge and enhance the photos and text on your cellphone. If you don’t, the text and pictures will be small and difficult to read. A note from the Webmaster The TLSN website…

Read More Mike Brumley’s passing, Zapalacs, Griffin, Kelly , Cox, Jones , two sports
2026 | Newsletters

1/23/2026 newsletter volume 10 newsletter #2 James Blackwood , Jordan Shipley, Tony Jeffery, Wilmer Allison, Lloyd Glasspool and Soren Hess-Olesen , 1914, Money drives and fans arrive
ByBilly Dale 01/23/202603/13/2026

The link to the newsletter is in the red font listed below: https://texaslsn.org?fluentcrm=1&route=email_preview&fc_newsletter=e720a9338fa01edb6cc22552bca8dfa8 THE POWER OF FANS

Read More 1/23/2026 newsletter volume 10 newsletter #2 James Blackwood , Jordan Shipley, Tony Jeffery, Wilmer Allison, Lloyd Glasspool and Soren Hess-Olesen , 1914, Money drives and fans arrive
Deceased by Last Name G- R

2019 Johnny Lam Jones
ByBilly Dale 02/06/202412/15/2024

The youngest member of the U.S. track and field Olympic team, Jones earlier became the first American high schooler to reach the Games’ 100-meter finals since Glendale (Calif.) High senior Frank Wycoff managed the feat in 1928. Competing against the elite sprinters of the world, Jones finished sixth. An article by Billy Dale- A tribute…

Read More 2019 Johnny Lam Jones
2021 | Newsletters

Gary Plock, 2005 Softball, Flanders Field, Tom Penders, Jim Bertelsen
ByBilly Dale 07/17/202410/28/2024

View in Browser TLSN Volume VI Newsletter #14 -May 31, 2021 Memorial Day honors those who died at war forever young. “In Flanders Fields The Poppies Blow, Between The Crosses Row On Row, That Mark Our Place; And In The Sky, The Larks, Still Bravely Singing, Fly Scarce Heard Amid The Guns Below. We Are…

Read More Gary Plock, 2005 Softball, Flanders Field, Tom Penders, Jim Bertelsen
2026 | Newsletters

MBFC, Schott, Peter Gardere , Smokey, Texas-OU, and Stealing O.U. Signals
ByBilly Dale 07/17/202404/24/2026

View in Browser Texas -O.U. Special Edition- Volume VI Newsletter #23 10/03/2021 Click on “View in Browser highlighted above in white lettering if the newsletter is not to scale or no images are present. Norman Fitzroy Maclean was an American author and scholar noted for his book “A River Runs Through It.” In the movie…

Read More MBFC, Schott, Peter Gardere , Smokey, Texas-OU, and Stealing O.U. Signals

Click on the small white letters “VIEW IN BROWSER” above to enlarge and enhance the photos and text on your cellphone.

UT Football Great, Mike Cotten, Has Passed Away by Larry Carlson https:// texaslsn.org

Mike Cotten, one of the early greats of the early Darrell Royal era, died at his Westlake home on Saturday, following a rief illness. He was 84.

He was preceded in death by his wife, and is survived by two daughters.

TLSN is a 501 (c)(3) Longhorn Sports history educational website with a compassionate component.

Https://texaslsn.org

TLSN is not associated with the UT Athletics Department or any organization closely aligned with UT.

Https://texaslsn.org

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply Cancel reply