PALMER: I thought we would still be a really good team with Eddie (Phillips) taking over for James (Street). We lost some great players to the pros and graduation but returned guys like Bill Zapalac, Bill Atessis, Bobby Wuensch, Scott Henderson, Bobby Mitchell, Mike Dean and Jim Achilles, who are all but Achilles now in the Longhorn Hall of Honor.

ATESSIS: We had such a wealth of talent. It was a reloading process. I recall my sophomore year (’68) at UT when I started at defensive tackle. In the OU game I suffered a knee injury and Scott (Palmer) came in to replace me. Then Scott got injured and Leo Brooks replaced him. All three of us went on to play in the NFL. That’s the depth of talent we had during those years.

DALE: I thought we had quality replacements and didn’t feel there would be much dropoff on the level of play on either the offense or defense. History proved this correct.

CARLSON/TLSN: College football is now 365 days of workouts, nutrition, ice plunges and such. How were y’all preparing that summer, did you have a job and did you stay in Austin or return to your hometown?

CAMPBELL: Growing up in Austin, my Grandfather owned a construction company so I worked for him every summer from junior high until I graduated from UT.

DALE: I went home (to Odessa) but I chose not to follow Frank’s (trainer Frank Medina) workout schedule and instead created my own, which was challenging.

PALMER: I stayed in Austin and shared an apartment with Eddie, (DB) Jimmy Gunn and Mack McKinney, who had graduated. I worked for the state that summer. I lifted weights three times a week and then twice a week during the season.

ATESSIS: I worked at a friend’s electrical supply company in Houston. I got a call one day from an NFL scout, inviting me to run 40-yard dash trials at the Oilers’ practice field. I told him I would, and went out in the middle of a typical hot, humid summer day in Houston. When I arrived there were several other local players in line to run. I had changed into running gear and got in line without any warming up or stretching and proceeded to run my first 40. I had a 4.7 time and was encouraged but the scout asked me to run another, so I got back in my stance and ran it. But this time, as I was finishing up I got a pull in my right hamstring. Initially, I didn’t think it was too bad and the scout told me to not to run for a week and treat with ice.

As it turned out, the pull was worse than I thought and I ended up going to Austin early for treatment. When Coach Royal found out what had happened, he called the NFL scout and summarily chewed his butt and told him they would not time our players outside our practice field in the future. That pull bothered me most of the season but I was able to play with it. Damn thing still bothers me today.

CARLSON/TLSN: Perfect lead-in to this. How did y’all feel about Coach Royal, in the way of respect, fear…admiration? Was he approachable or more of a deity up on the coaching tower above the practice field?

ATESSIS: I respected Coach Royal and he was a big part of why I chose UT. He was a disciplinarian and expected your best effort. He didn’t hesitate to let you know when you missed an assignment, especially when watching the game films. However, he was also there to offer help or advice with any life experiences you may be going through. He was very humble and a fiercely competitive man.

PALMER: We all respected him and you only spoke when spoken to. You just didn’t want to be called to his office. It happened to me once and I was wondering what I had done. Coach just said “You’ve been invited to the Senior Bowl and Hula Bowl. Choose one.” With a sigh of relief, I said ‘Senior Bowl.’ And that was that

He only became friendly with you after your playing days were over. He knew how to handle his players. He was a great coach and a great man.

DALE: Personally, I was terrified of him. Whenever he approached me in any setting, I’d immediately head in the opposite direction. On rainy days we would use the Gregory Gym hallway to stay dry on our way to class. If Coach Royal’s office door was open, I’d either run past his office as fast as I could, or even crawl by once so he couldn’t see me from his desk. Was this desperate? Maybe, but I wasn’t the only one — though I won’t reveal any names of the others.

CAMPBELL: I had a different relationship with Coach Royal than most of the players. I had lived in the same neighborhood since I was eight years old. He had given me a standing invitation to come to practice any time I wanted, and that led to my interest in becoming a coach. Coach Royal, Rooster and Bunny Andrews were tremendous role models and mentors to me after my Dad passed away my sophomore year in high school.

CARLSON/TLSN: Y’all, as a team, had seen your teammate, Freddie Steinmark, go through having a leg amputated back in December, the week after the big win against Arkansas. Then, his appearance on crutches for the Cotton Bowl and his debut on a prosthetic leg at the team banquet. Now, in the fall of ’70, he was helping out as a coach. How inspiring or emotional was that?

ATESSIS: Freddie was one of the bravest persons I’ve known. I am fortunate to still have a relationship with his brother, Sammy, who was Freddie’s biggest fan, and we still share stories about him and how much he is missed.

DALE: At first, I hadn’t managed the situation well and felt uneasy due to my own lack of maturity and uncertainty about how to interact. I think some others shared similar concerns. Upon Freddie’s first return to the locker room the environment was tense. Recognizing this, Freddie later chose to lighten the mood by dressing as a pirate who had lost his leg, which prompted laughter and helped create a more positive and supportive atmosphere among the team.

CAMPBELL: Freddie was an inspiration to everyone around him. He always had a smile on his face and kept a great attitude through it all. Freddie helped coach the freshman team that year and he was a mentor and good role model to all those freshman players. He would’ve been a great coach.

CARLSON/TLSN: I’ve gotta ask for some remembrances of your legendary trainer and disciplinarian, Frank Medina. For a guy who stood about five feet nothin’, he struck fear into lots of Longhorns. I’ve heard about running the stands at 5 a.m. and all kinds of hell. How ’bout some thoughts or memories?

CAMPBELL: Frank Medina also lived in our neighborhood and I went to school with his daughter. In the summer, Frank would put on a strength and conditioning program for any high school players in Austin who wanted to participate. I learned from Frank how you could push yourself when you thought there was nothing left in the tank. I walked on at Texas in the spring of ’69. The first day I went through the conditioning program with the team, Frank called me in his office after the workout. I thought he was going to cut me but instead he encouraged me. He told me he had watched me play since junior high and knew I could play at this level. But he said, because of my size (5-5, 150), I would never get a “look” from the coaches unless I finished first in every drill.

The majority of our players never had to take part in some of those “extra” after-practice workouts Coach Royal despised players who were “overweight.” He thought it was an indication of laziness or lack of character. If you were one of those guys, you were on “Frank’s List.” They would have to put on rubber sweatsuits and work out in the sauna room with the heat turned up until they could hardly stand. Once you had reached your target weight, you were no longer on “Frank’s List.”

DALE: Frank Medina believed that football was not a sport for the weak-spirited.

He loved doing his job…but none of the players loved him doing his job. He drove the players hard during the infamous “Medina Sessions.” The survivors were “Medina-ized” and made the team. Frank had an unusual speech pattern and took liberties with the English language. The way he constructed his sentences and his cadence was Yoda-like, long before the first “Star Wars” movie. My favorite quote about Frank Medina is from Glenn Blackwood (1975-78). He says, “You know what he was like? Darrell Royal was Obi-Wan Kenobi and Frank Medina was Yoda. This little guy was a piece of work.

‘Mr. Man..come on, Mr. Man,’ Medina would say. He couldn’t remember our names, so he just called us all ‘Mr. Man.’ One time he had us run “the religious relays. ‘I want the Baptists over here, the Methodists here…’ I’ve never seen anything like him.

ATESSIS: ‘Show me what you got!’ Frank’s motto was to challenge you to give it your all and don’t hold back. Push your limits to be the best you can be. Frank was an institution at UT and responsible for much of our success for being physically fit and treating whatever injuries we did incur.

CARLSON/TLSN: How nervous or psyched do you remember feeling before games? I’ve heard that Bobby Wuensch, for one, was a Jekyll & Hyde guy who could transform into a pregame locker room madman.

DALE: All of us dealt with pre-game jitters in different ways but all of us knew to steer clear of Bobby’s “preparation for the game” ritual.

CAMPBELL: The only times I remember being really nervous was if it was really windy or the other team had a left-footed punter. Both of those made fielding punts difficult. I was always keeping an eye out for Bobby Wuensch before games. If I saw him coming around the locker room, I would go hide in the shower. He liked to pinch your cheeks until they almost bled, or you promised him you would play the best game you had ever played.

CARLSON/TLSN: Alright, let’s get to the start of the ’70 season. Y’all demolished California in Austin, then went out to Lubbock and schooled the Red Raiders.

Then it was time for UCLA at Memorial Stadium. For younger fans who might not know, that last-minute, 20-17 win over the Bruins on the Eddie Phillips-to-Cotton Speyrer catch-and-run is still considered the greatest finish ever for a Texas home game. It built the win streak to 23 and electrified the crowd and stadium. Your memories?

CAMPBELL: As a wide receiver, you never get a chance to see what’s going on as far as defensive fronts are concerned. You’re just reading coverages and our job was to block the man responsible for the deep third on your side of the ball. Cotton and I were just wondering what was going on because we never had any runners breaking into the secondary. UCLA had done a great job studying our wishbone offense and had come up with a scheme we had never seen. Hats off to them and praise the Lord that Eddie made a great throw and Cotton made a great catch and we snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat.

PALMER: All I remember is grabbing coach (Willie) Zapalac in a bear hug when Eddie and Cotton connected on the T-D pass.

DALE: On the second play from scrimmage, I was knocked unconscious and separated my shoulder. Despite that, I continued to play for most of the game. The details of the game remain hazy, but one vivid memory stands out. During Cotton’s legendary catch I was split out to the right and ran a hook inside, serving as a safety valve for Eddie if he needed an option. This positioning had me facing the East side of the stadium as Cotton scored. The moment Cotton crossed into the end zone was unlike anything I had ever experienced. The noise and the movement of the fans throughout the stadium was overwhelming. It was only after the touchdown that the fans truly understood we had won the game, creating an unforgettable scene of excitement and triumph.

ATESSIS: I was on the sidelines close to where Cotton caught the pass. Watching the two UCLA defensive backs jump the route and knock each other down, Cotton catching it and running it in with under 20 seconds left on the clock…I was ecstatic, jumping and grabbing teammates. It’s still to this day one of my favorite memories of the season.

CARLSON/TLSN: It sure stands the test of time. Talk to Longhorn fans, and two million of them were there to see it. Alright….next up was OU. Y’all won tough ones in ’68 and ’69 and led only 3-0 with five minutes left in the first half in ’70. But while the Sooners were debuting their version of the wishbone, y’all came on big and whipped them,

41-9. It was the largest margin of victory over Oklahoma until the 49-0 win in 2022 But your win was so costly, with Cotton breaking an arm and being lost for the season.

PALMER: Losing Cotton was a big loss for our team.

ATESSIS: No doubt, losing Cotton was a big loss for us. He was as gifted a receiver as there was in the country. The fact that OU came out in the wishbone was surprising but nothing new for us. We’d been defending against it for several years on our practice field.

CARLSON/TLSN: Okay, time for some general questions for you gents. When you got a chance to blow off some steam, eat something good or drink something cold, what were your favorite hangouts back in the day?

PALMER: The Bucket and the Flagon.

CAMPBELL: I was a regular at Dirty’s. It was a Thursday night tradition for me, usually at about 9:30. Growing up, I had a friend whose Dad owned Dirty’s at the time. We used to work on weekends upstairs, cutting onions and tomatoes.

ATESSIS: Pink Lizard. And the Stallion, where on Wednesday nights they had a chicken-fried steak special for one dollar. If you were there at the right time, good ol’ Sarge Eastman would pick up the tab.

CARLSON/TLSN: It’s been often said that Steve Worster was quite the ladies’ man.

Any comments?

DALE: For three years, on Friday nights, the team was sequestered at an undisclosed motel for home and away games. Steve and I roomed together. In addition, Steve’s room at Moore-Hill Hall was next to mine, so we shared some Fridays and Saturdays together and…yes, he was very popular with the girls.

CARLSON/TLSN: Some players from just after y’all played have talked of DKR’s fondness for country music and for bringing the likes of Willie Nelson and others to practice or even to ride on the team bus to the OU game. Was any of that going on yet?

ATESSIS: You bet it was. I went to Coach Royal’s house one night with James Street to a social event he was having, and some of the Texas New York Jets players were there, along with Joe Willie Namath. I noticed this long-haired, pony-tailed guy sitting on the couch, playing the guitar. I had no idea who he was and found out later that night that it was Willie Nelson, entertaining the group.

CAMPBELL: I can remember Willie coming to practice on occasion, and I think one time he did a concert after the spring game.

PALMER: That summer, I was down at the stadium, running, and I saw Coach Royal talking to some fellow on the field. He was wearing a green cowboy outfit. I asked one of the managers who it was and he replied, ‘Willie Nelson.’ I said, ‘Never heard of him.’

CARLSON/TLSN: Time for me to get back to asking some football questions. Texas had plenty of players in back-up roles who would’ve been starters at most schools. These days, they’d be gone in the portal. Who are some teammates you recall who perhaps didn’t get the notice they deserved?

ATESSIS: (Running back) Tommy Asaff.

CAMPBELL: I always thought Gary Keithley could’ve been one of the greatest quarterbacks Texas ever had. Gary transferred to UTEP where he had a great career and then played in the NFL. He just wasn’t a good fit for the triple option offense.

CARLSON/TLSN: After the UCLA game, only the Baylor game — a 21-14 UT victory — was close the rest of the year. With the Arkansas game still looming in December, y’all crushed the Aggies for the third straight season. What stands out when you recall the rivalry and the short week that led up to those Thanksgiving games?

CAMPBELL: I wish we could go back to playing A&M and it being the only college game on Thanksgiving day. A&M wasn’t very good in those years but times have changed and A&M has now replaced Arkansas as our second most important game.

ATESSIS: The Aggie dinner at the stadium, when each player would get up and say why he wanted to beat the Aggies. I also remember what (A&M) Coach (Gene) Stallings told me when I went to visit A&M as a recruit. I walked into his office. He had his back to me and swiveled around to face me. He then proceeded to tell me I didn’t have the guts to come to A&M. I always looked forward to showing him what kind of guts I had.

CARLSON/TLSN: That’s pretty rich. Your three years, the Horns won by 35-14, 49-12 and 52-14. And that one in ’70, your final Aggie joke on Stallings, set up the “Volume II” of the Big Shootout against Arkansas. Again, for younger fans who weren’t yet on the planet, the ’69 game in cold Fayetteville, with Texas number one, the Hogs number two and President Nixon helicoptering in…was a dream set-up. Y’all won with epic fourth quarter heroices to overcome a 14-0 score and win the national title, 15-14.

So…now that it was time to play another excellent Razorback team, this time in Austin, what was the team’s attitude about maybe settling the score…since UT had been forced to overcome six turnovers a year earlier?

ATESSIS: I don’t recall “settling a score” sentiment. Our defense held them to 14 points on six turnovers. It was more of the same and especially on the goal line. We prided ourselves in our goal line defense.

CARLSON/TLSN: Well, December 5, 1970, brought a warm, Indian Summer afternoon in Memorial Stadium. The main drama of “Shootout II”…really the only drama in this version came early, not late. After you and the Hogs traded TD’s, y’all reclaimed the lead, 14-7, and UA responded by taking the ball to the lip of the cup. Your ol’ teammate, linebacker Stan Mauldin, told me recently that Texas knew going in, that Arkansas tailback Bill Burnett had the goal line tendency to take the handoff, do a high spring in the air and launch himself over the offensive line, usually into the end zone. But Stan said that UT’s defensive boss, Coach Mike Campbell, used scientific theories such as “every action has an equal and opposite action.” He taught the Texas linebackers to line up deep and mirror Burnett’s technique.

The rest is history. Texas slammed the door on fourth and goal, then drove 99 yards for a 14-point swing and a 21-7 lead en route to a 42-7 ass-kicking. As a refresher, y’all outrushed the number four team 464 yards to 20 yards. The total O stat line was 517-165. Worster and Jim Bertelsen combined for five TD’s and 315 yards on the ground.

ATESSIS: It was the last game at Memorial Stadium for many of the Worster Bunch class. I think the realization that many of us had was to go out with a bang.

CAMPBELL: After having coached at Arkansas, and becoming good friends with some of the players on the ’69 and ’70 teams at Arkansas, I learned that the ’69 game was such a heartbreaker for the Hogs that they never got over it. They went into the ’70 game with a little doubt in their minds. They had played so well in ’69 and we had played so poorly and still won. In ’70, we thought it would be another really close game. We prepared well and played well. The rushing stats tell the whole story on both sides of the ball.

CARLSON/TLSN: So, number one Texas was 10-0 again, and number one. And the UPI crowned the Longhorns as national champions, as was its custom, before the bowl games. The Cotton Bowl invited Notre Dame and QB Joe Theismann to challenge the top-ranked Horns for the second straight year.

For readers, the Irish were much, much bigger than UT in the trenches. Worster was very banged up and Royal later said he shouldn’t have played him. Notre Dame was able to cramp UT’s ground game for the most part…but at the expense of letting Eddie Phillips run wild on keepers. Pick your poison. The Horns fumbled an incredible nine times and lost five of them plus an interception. The Irish led, 21-3, early in the third. Phillips and UT went to the pass and got some yards but hit only 10 of 27. It ended in a 24-11 loss, finishing the 30-game win streak. Texas actually outgained Notre Dame,

426-359…but the turnovers hurt too much.

How tough was it to see the season, the streak and some playing careers end?

PALMER: I cried like a baby.

DALE: Comparing the 1969 season to the 1970 season, the high quality of team play was equal but the injury factor wasn’t. Steve Worster was hurt late in the season and never recovered. Eddie Phillips was injured during the Cotton Bowl and Cotton’s (Speyrer) season-ending injury against the Sooners prevented his heroics that helped us win the previous Notre Dame game.

CAMPBELL: I’ve always believed that the hardest games to win are those that follow a really big win. The 1970 win over Arkansas was arguably one of the biggest wins in UT history, not just because it was for the conference championship but also it was for a national championship. There was a lot of celebrating going on, and rightfully so. But I think we lost that competitive edge that we’d had going into the Arkansas game. We had accomplished all our goals. For Notre Dame, who never has to play for a conference championship and had finished their season with a close win over Air Force, they went into the bowl game with an attitude of “we gotta get better.”

CARLSON/TLSN: I’ve heard over the years that quite a few Longhorns felt that — both seasons — Notre Dame had a lot of folks who were “jerks,” while the Texas players felt they were looking in the mirror when judging Arkansas’s conduct.

ATESSIS: The Notre Dame players and coaching staff didn’t seem to have much respect for our team or coaches and had no problem expressing their disdain with derogatory comments on and off the field. The Arkansas players reflected their coach’s (Frank Broyles, Royal’s good friend) philosophy of sportsmanship. On and off the field, they showed class and respect for their opponents.

DALE: Defeats are more brutal when victory is close. (In ’69) Arkansas had many chances to win that game. Decades later, the Arkansas players hosted a reunion in Fayetteville for both teams to honor the two teams that fought for the 1969 national championship, a proud moment for both teams. That legendary Texas-Arkansas game demonstrated to TV executives the value of broadcasting college football and marked a defining moment in the history of college sports.

CARLSON/TLSN: Absolutely. And fifty-five years later, we have an October-November stretch of eight weeks with college ball on ESPN, Tuesday night through late Saturday night. It’s great for the fans, the advertisers and the execs you mentioned.

Following the ’70 season, Texas won three more SWC crowns, finishing with six in a row, started by the Worster Bunch signing class. Six in a row!

For comparison, Longhorn football teams have won nine conference championships, and one national title since then…in more than a half-century. What endures most for you, about the accomplishments for the Texas teams you played for?

PALMER: The lifelong friendships.

DALE: Including the 1963 team, the 1969 and 1970 teams set a benchmark of how to win with class, for future teams to follow.

CAMPBELL: I think it was the culture that Coach Royal had developed, that we went into every game expecting to win, not hoping to win. We were going to run the ball down your throat and stone you on defense. He recruited a lot of players that were captains on their high school teams because he wanted players that were good leaders and he wanted players who had character and intelligence. He wanted players who put the team first and those who knew how to play with class.

ATESSIS: The lifelong relationships with the players, managers, trainers, fans and coaches that defined us. Hook ’em!

CARLSON/TLSN: I can’t thank you gents enough for your time and your terrific recollections. This was a huge treat for me. The 1970 team is my favorite, and I still think it’s the greatest Longhorn team ever. Thanks and Hook ’em.

The post 12/22/2025 Professor Carlson interviews Bill Atessis, Dean Campbell, Scott Palmer, and Billy Dale about the 1970 National Championship team. appeared first on Texas Legacy Support Network.

Billy Dale says:

Less than a handful of “boys turning to men” can say they received a pitch-out from the first four quarterbacks in the productive history of the Wishbone. Yours truly is one of them.

Bill Bradley, James Street, and Eddie Phillips had a soft pitch with a usually slow arch delivery. Donnie Wigginton did not! Donnie’s pitch was quicker than a striking snake with such velocity that the football had no arch. The pitchman’s eyes could never lose contact with Donnie for a millisecond waiting on Donnie’s option to keep or pitch.

So my brief comments about the first four wishbone quarterbacks follow:

Destiny had grand plans for Bill Bradley’s superior athletic skill set, but it was not at quarterback.

James Street was and always will be critique-proof, and he deserves to be. His Bust is on prominent display at the stadium.

In the book “OU vs. Texas” Robert Heard quotes Royal as saying, “Phillips is the best running quarterback he ever coached. Royal Says That Eddie’s Ability To Delay The Pitch “Was Art.” Coach Rogers From UCLA Says That Eddie Phillips “Was The Best At Running That Style Of Offense I’ve Ever Seen.” Worthy of a Bust at DKR stadium.

Eddie and Donnie

Royal says about Donnie’s 1971 football season, “I think, Donnie Wigginton should Be Given Consideration For The Most Valuable Player In The Conference.” “He Leads The Conference With 84 Points.”

Donnie tied a Longhorn record for touchdowns in a season (14), leading the league in scoring, and he was named the SWC’s most valuable offensive player by the Houston Post.

Those stats should be worth a Camp Longhorn motto, “ATTAWAYTOGO” from a grateful Longhorn Nation, but that never occurred the way it should. Perhaps it is because many thought he was a traitor when he joined former Longhorn Coach Bellard’s staff as an Aggie coach. Recognizing Donnie’s accomplishments by Longhorn fans became even more problematic with his success in turning Texas A & M football into an SWC powerhouse. Challenging Texas for supremacy.

From my perspective, there is irony in two Longhorns (Bellard and Wigginton) teaching “little brother” how to play football again.

Professor Larry Carlson

TLSN writer Larry Carlson was one of the fans who followed QB Donnie Wigginton. Carlson, then a freshman at SWT, bought Wigginton’s # 18 jersey at Rooster Andrews when game jerseys went on sale after the season. He still has it.

Larry met and sat next to Donnie at the Houston Touchdown Club luncheon last May, visited with him again in September at the unveiling of the National Championship QB busts at the stadium. He requested a TLSN interview and Donnie complied.

Larry also wrote an article for the 1971 season at the following link:

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/1971-a-team-thathas-paid-the-ultimate-pricefor-victory

THE DONNIE WIGGINTON ODYSSEY:

HE’S BEEN EVERYWHERE, MAN

by Larry Carlson ( lc13@txstate.edu )

At a height listed generously as 5-8 during his playing days (1969-1971) for the Texas Longhorns, Donnie Wigginton was never a big guy. But he always played big.

Now, on the shady side of 70, he’s even growing.

According to Donnie, that growth spurt comes courtesy of his four grandsons, ranging in age from five to twenty-three. “They teach me something new every time we’re together,” the proud grandpa says.

Wigginton was never a stranger to growth and new experiences. Part of the 1967 signing class known as “The Worster Bunch,” the carrot-topped QB had taken his Spring Branch High football team to the state title game — they lost narrowly to Emory Bellard’s San Angelo Bobcats — and then was part of an unbeaten freshman team at UT.

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In the interview session that follows, Wigginton discusses the learning experience of young players not then permitted to play varsity ball. He had to be more patient than most of his classmates because he redshirted in 1968 when the Horns closed the year with nine straight wins, a SWC title and Cotton Bowl win.

When the time to play at last kicked in, Wigginton quickly contributed on special teams as the holder for placekicks. Because of that he would play a key role in UT’s national championship as a sophomore. Donnie continued to learn and his contributions grew as backup to QB Eddie Phillips in 1970’s repeat national crown. He was getting plenty of reps as a wishbone operator, in the offense so reliant upon repetition as the ticket to proper handling.

The Longhorn football program would reap the benefits of Wigginton’s maturity as a senior in 1971, Not only was number 18 one of the few fifth-year seniors, he was a married man, with a first child on the way as fall drills opened in August. Donnie’s name would be called at Texas. He would be ready.

Fellow quarterback Eddie Phillips was the reigning Cotton Bowl MVP and expected to again excel but injuries quickly stifled him. And Phillips wasn’t alone with the injury bug. By the time game number four — the OU battle — arrived, Texas had more than a dozen starters missing time or already sidelined for the season. Phillips, limited by nasty, bothersome hamstring and toe injuries, would play in only six regular season games.

Oklahoma, sniffing blood in the water, pounded Texas for only the second time since 1957, Darrell Royal’s first season. And Wigginton was now banged up, too, with only a week to prepare for Arkansas on the road.

Professor Carlson, Donnie Wigginton, and Jay Arnold at the Houston Touchdown club honoring Tyres Dickson and TLSN.

Jim Williamson and Donnie Wigginton

It was ugly in Little Rock, The 31-7 Hog victory amid downpours was the meteorological sign that there truly was no joy in Mudville, aka Austin. The Horns, three-time defending SWC champs, were suddenly 3-2, blown out in two of the worst beatings in the Darrell Royal era. The Razorbacks, led by All-America QB Joe Ferguson, a passing whiz, were the team to beat. Texas, according to most in the media, would now be playing for second place, if that.

Wigginton, on the mend, led Texas to a 39-10 win over Rice the next week, rambling for 120 yards on keepers. But, hey, it was just Rice.

Donnie Dub and the wounded Horns were steadily getting well, though, on both sides of the ball. Senior RB Jim Bertelsen was still the quiet, solid star he had been since arriving in Austin from Hudson, Wisconsin.

The defense was suffocating teams again. Texas, dead in Little Rock’s water-drenched War Memorial Stadium in mid-October, reeled off five straight comfortable wins. Arkansas went to sleep in late October and was upset by lowly A&M. A week later, the Hogs tied Rice. Yep, that Rice. The one with five losses going into November.

Life was blooming for Wigginton, big time, as the season ended. Now he was a UT graduate, and one day after the Cotton Bowl, he would start working as a college coach in an unlikely locale, just as his wife would soon give birth to the couple’s first child. Ultimately, work outside the gridiron would provide Donnie with more travels than Rand McNally.

Perhaps Johnny Cash’s “I’ve Been Everywhere” should be dedicated to the Longhorn who personified accountability and excellence when it most mattered, resulting in a gritty, unlikely title run by his team.

In this TLSN interview, the personable and engaging man who was a vital cog in three SWC crowns and two national championships, discusses the magical leadership of James Street, shares vivid memories of The Big Shootout of 1969 and relishes the satisfaction brought through coaching and answering the call for personal growth in various chapters of life. And Wigginton, still a UT season-ticket holder in several sports, advises patience in assessing coaching and quarterback play at The Forty Acres, reminding all readers that “the jury is still out.”

Make no mistake on this, though. The verdict was long ago delivered regarding Donnie Wigginton.

Mentally and physically tough, tasting life with extra relish and always, always prepared for opportunities and new experiences. Still growing.

TLSN TLSN TLSN TLSN TLSN

The post Thoughts from the Webmaster and Professor Carlson about Donnie Wigginton. appeared first on Texas Legacy Support Network.

https://texaslsn.org/larry-carlsons-interviews/

TLSN: What do you remember about the competition and challenges that came with playing freshman football with a lot of other highly-rated signees from across the state? How much did being ineligible for varsity as a freshman — and playing five games as Shorthorns — help ease you and others into college life and the pressures of tootball at UT?

DONNIE: Back in the day, freshman football was a way of life…you came in, learned the Longhorn way of playing football…everything was a competition…if not from the coaches, from the players themselves. Our class, known as “The Worster Bunch,” was one of the most highly decorated ones to every come to UT. Everyone that came in was either All-District, All-State or some kind of MVP of some kind. Fifty guys came in…this was the first year of limiting scholarships..and we would win our five games as freshmen, and be part of a 30-game winning streak (on varsity) and two national championships. These guys were the tops at every school they came from. No one ever had sat the bench and they weren’t ready to start now.

Coach Ellington is on the right .

We were led by Coach Bill Ellington, the perfect guy. He was a laid-back, elderly guy who had been a high school coach in West Texas. His job was to take these baby chicks like a mother hen and lead them, introducing them to most of these new experiences called college. I really think his main job was to make sure we all got to the spring semester so the trainers and varsity coaches could get their shot at us to mold a winning team. He was great and got all of us to his finish line any way he could…he was there to solve any problems we had, and he had seen most of what incoming freshmen would experience. In the process of this, we went through that year undefeated, and from that point on, there wasn’t any doubt in us, we could be really good.

TLSN: You’re the well-known answer to a popular Longhorn trivia question….Who was the sophomore holder for Happy Feller’s game-winning extra point in the epic 15-14 win over Arkansas in the Big Shootout/Game of the Century? It WAS a high snap, that’s for sure. Fifty-three years later, what do you recall most vividly about that moment? Do you remember if you had told yourself to be extra-ready for a snap that wasn’t perfect?

Donnie and Happy

DONNIE: The “Game of the Century” was an amazing setting for UT football and me. My roommate, Happy Feller, was one of the last great straight-ahead kickers in college football. We had practiced a thousand times at each practice throughout the season. Forrest Wiegand was the snapper. (Coach) Emory Bellard was in charge of us, and we worked in every kind of weather throughout that season, so we would never come up short at any time…never expecting that one point would make the difference in the national championship. The weather that day was low 40s and misting… a terrible day, weatherwise, for any game, much less one that had so much importance. Throughout the game, I kept my hands with hand warmers inside my jacket, always ready. In the fourth quarter, we found a way to tie the game after being behind the whole game. But as we got in position to kick the winning point, everything was just like we had practiced beginning back in those 100-degree days of August. Forrest snapped it, I caught it and set it on the tee for Happy, and he drilled it home. It’s been with me for 53 years, and it’s amazing how people to this day tell me they just saw the Big Shootout of 1969 on TV and didn’t know a little guy like me could jump as high as I did as it sailed through.

TLSN: Well, you’re too modest about the adept handling of a high, hard snap, but you did show some “ups” on that celebration of a leap.

What else do you keep in your heart and memory bank from anything that big day in Fayetteville?

DONNIE: As far as the time in Arkansas, the thing I remember most was actually at the end of our practice in sweats the day before the game. The captains (QB James Street, LB Glen Halsell, RB Ted Koy) gathered us under the goalposts. When James began to speak, it was mesmerizing. He talked about the season and how tomorrow would be with us for the rest of our lives. All the people at the game would be yelling and screaming throughout the entire game. We needed to hear only one thing… they were only yelling FOR the Longhorns. He believed everything was about how we were going to win…a fearless and dynamic leader. It was amazing.

TLSN: For Longhorn fans of the Darrell Royal era, you epitomize the “next man up” mentality better than just about anyone. How much pressure did you feel about taking over the reins when Eddie Philllips was injured and banged up pretty early on in ’71, your senior year?

Eddie on left- Jim Bertelsen sitting in the middle and Donnie on the right

DONNIE: As for pressure, I didn’t look at it that way. I was as prepared as anyone could be…a fifth-year, redshirt QB…been running the wishbone in practice since ’68…I came back with the full intention of running it in any game I was called on to. As my luck would have it, an injury happened and I was there to do what I was trained to do. When the injury happened, Frank Medina, our trainer, took me back to his office and let me know in no uncertain terms I was ready…everything I had worked for was now in front of me. I had paid the price to get there and the time was now. Frank’s wife was a great cook and he opened his refrigerator and gave me a piece of her cake that he had there. I had arrived! The rest of my history as starting QB for the Longhorns was about to begin.

TLSN: You were a husband and father while playing your senior season. What kind of impact did the responsibilities of home have on you as a player and student? And what did you miss from dorm life?

DONNIE: It kept me really focused that year, knowing my wife was pregnant during that whole season. Great support from lots of alumni and friends for her and myself. She actually was in the hospital for the Cotton Bowl with phlebitis. I was the old man on the squad with many great guys on the team that year. Because I had redshirted, almost all of my class was gone. My only regret was not being able to spend time in the dorm to develop as many close relationships with all the guys as I would have liked.

TLSN: What do you recall about the maturity and grittiness of the ’71 team, kind of circling the wagons and surging after so many injuries contributed to one-sided, back-to-back losses to OU and Arkansas? Many observers wrote Texas off for any chance at a fourth consecutive SWC championship. What was the group mentality, and who are some of the leaders, besides yourself, who stepped up and refused to lose when the Horns went 5-0 to close out the regular season and win another title?

DONNIE: Seventy-one was a hard season for us from the standpoint of injuries. By the time we played OU we had lost 14 starters for portions of the season. To name a few starters and leaders of the team, Donnie Burrisk, Dan Steakley, Steve Fleming, and Lonnie Bennett in the backfield, along with Jim Bertelsen. And Jeff Zapalac, Jerry Sisemore, Dean Campbell, Stan Mauldin, and Jay Arnold…

TLSN: You were on the walking wounded, yourself, in that midseason crisis. When I talked to you over at the stadium for the unveiling of the QB busts in September, you mentioned the shots (cortisone?) you had to get just to be able to play. How bad was the pain when you were taking hard hits as a wishbone quarterback?

DONNIE: I was banged up and left the OU game early in the third quarter against them with the score 27-21, OU favor. It was all downhill (48-27) from there. I had separated my cartilage from my rib cage. I had to sleep in a chair all that week, getting two shots a day…a painkiller and healer. The next Saturday at Arkansas, I got a double dose of both. Didn’t feel much, but it didn’t help much. My body wouldn’t respond to what I needed to do…was pretty useless, and we lost big. After that, nobody gave us any shot (at winning a fourth straight SWC championship). But we weren’t dead yet. I was better, and there was work to be done. We reeled off five straight wins to go 8-2 and win the conference.

TLSN: In January ’72, after the Cotton Bowl game against Penn State, you accepted a job to accompany Coach Emory Bellard at, of all places in the universe, A&M. Seriously, how much of a culture shock was that? And you famously came back to the ’71 UT team’s post-season team banquet, dressed in full Aggie cadet regalia. What do you recall about the reception you got?

Top row – Ted Koy, James Street, Steve Worster, Tommy Asaff – front row- Donnie Wigginton, Emory Bellard, Billy Dale, and Bobby Callison

DONNIE: After the Cotton Bowl on January 1st, I was at work January 2nd at Texas A&M. Emory Bellard hired me as a freshman coach. My wife was in the hospital in Austin. I hit the recruiting trail for the Aggies in January. On the 24th was our UT football banquet. I asked Coach Bellard if he thought I should go back to the banquet, and my wife was to deliver the next day. Rooster and Bunny Andrews thought it would be great fun to surprise everyone…at the banquet, with my name being near the end (alphabetical order), I slipped out and changed into an Aggie Senior Corps uniform, with boots and sword. When I crossed the stage to get my Senior blanket, the crowd went crazy…loved it…highlight of the banquet.

Aggie Coach Wigginton

Aggie Coach Wigginton

Donnie and DKR

Donnie and DKR

Donnie and Coach Bellard

Donnie and Coach Bellard

Next day, I became a father and life just kept changing.

TLSN: You’ve reminisced a little bit when I talked to you a couple of times earlier this year, about the guys Bellard, you and the rest of the A&M staff recruited to turn things around. The mid-’70s Ags ended up with a gold mine of future stars such as Ed Simonini, Bubba Bean, Lester Hayes, Garth Ten Napel, Richard Osborne, from my old high school — Robert E Lee in San Antonio — and others. I’ve gotta ask you this: What was it like, suddenly recruiting AGAINST your old team, your old alma mater?

DONNIE: Recruiting and coaching at A&M was never a real problem for me. Coach Bellard had been my coach for the previous four years, and I trusted him completely. Paul Register had been my high school coach, and we were going to coach the freshman team together. It was a great opportunity to get into college coaching that I never had possible. And competing against UT was like going against your older brother, trying to prove to him your value at the next level. Besides, I was a college graduate and a new father with a great opportunity and needed to start providing on my own.

TLSN: Looking back, what were the pros and cons of coaching football?

Aggie Coach Wigginton

DONNIE: In our first two years of recruiting, we set a foundation of talent that served our program well. In ten-game seasons, in our first season, we won three games. In year two, we won five….a little better. Third year (eleven-game seasons began), we won eight and were making a name for ourselves. We won ten each year for the next two seasons and tied for first in the Southwest Conference. Very exciting.

Our second daughter had come along by then, and the family had become even more important to me. I made some important decisions. Woody Hayes (All-time Ohio State coaching icon) had told our offensive staff when we visited Ohio State in the spring of ’74 that “(there are) only two kinds of college coaches…those that had been fired and those that were going to get fired.” I knew it was my time (to walk away). College coaching had become so time-consuming, and I was on the road more than I wanted, away from my girls. I decided if I was going to make a difference in their lives, I needed to do something else…so I left A&M in the summer of 1977 and spent the next 15 years teaching and coaching at the high school level. I was even an Athletic Director once.

TLSN: As a coach, what were the kinds of things you scrutinized in games?

DONNIE: The sad thing about coaching college football is you very seldom can watch a game just for the pure enjoyment. All the years of studying film, learning the nuances that different coaches use with their teams, all the responsibilities of the individual players, blocking assignments, gap controls, pressuring the QB…just myriad things that it takes to be successful.

TLSN: As a former quarterback and former coach, what’s your take on Quinn Ewers thus far?

DONNIE: I always said quarterbacks get too much credit when you win and too much blame when you lose. Still true today. Lots of quarterbacks in college are still evolving. The ones that fail, stop evolving. Ewers is evolving. Everyone should give him a chance to see where he takes us. The jury is definitely still out on him, either way. Same with Sark. From my experience…he’s on a good trajectory but the jury is out on him as well. Give him some more time to evolve and we’ll all see the Sark era as head coach, not an offensive coordinator, shows out to be.

TLSN: What do you spend time on these days, Donnie…and what are you looking forward to?

DONNIE: The things that keep me going right now are my four grandsons…5,10, 21, 23…what new experience each one has to face and how do they handle it. I look back…’how did I handle those things?’ I’m still growing as they teach me something new every time we are together.

TLSN: Okay, I like to close out with this one. What’s something about Donnie Wigginton that most people wouldn’t know?

DONNIE: The one thing not many people, except friends and loved ones, know about me….there was a stretch of about 16 years where I needed to be on my own and wanted to travel. Money had never driven me. I didn’t have much. So I found a way. Delivering school buses, all kinds of trucks but never any with trailers…every kind of truck known.. As my Canadian friends would say, this took me through every state in the lower 48. Every state has rare things to do. Also, in every province in Canada, in all its wonder, including Victoria and Newfoundland … beauty is everywhere we look. I used to say that all cities had interesting things, beautiful things, some great historical things, and…they all have somewhere you don’t want to be after dark. Not many have gone where I have been. It has been a trip.

On the Road Again

On a trip to Nova Scotia

On a trip to Nova Scotia

Delivering a truck in Maine

Delivering a truck in Maine

TLSN: Wow. Thanks for everything, Donnie.

2021 Longhorn event with the Charlie Mauldin clan, Donnie Wigginton and Billy Dale enjoying a moment of fellowship with new friends.

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charlie Mauldin 2022 3.jpg

Charlie Mauldin photos 2022 .jpg

The post Donnie Wigginton is interviewed by Larry Carlson appeared first on Texas Legacy Support Network.

THE GAME CHANGER https://texaslsn.org/larry-carlsons-interviews/

Comments from Jeff Ward

Jeff ward says college football can teach you these outstanding lessons that come in very brutal ways. You start to learn what it’s all about. And that is the same people who would buy you beer on Friday are the same people who will call a college show on Monday and and complain that about what a bum you are. So you learn this beautiful lesson. I got my nose bloodied enough to know that you don’t take people that seriously.

Comments from Jeff pre- NIL

When you cut through it all ward said you’re talking about pretty average 19 year old guys who are stuck in the middle of this giant publicity machine. And everybody is having a good time around them. I’m all for people making a buck edit but in the end that 19 year old it’s going to be chewed up and spit out and I have no idea what the hell has happened.

Skip forward to 2023 – college players are no long chewed up and spit out instead the Universities recruiting them now are.

Introduction by Larry Carlson of THE GAME CHANGER

All-American Kicker Jeff Ward (Still) Speaks Out

There are likely many Americans who know Michael Strahan only as a cuddly and personable morning TV host. And those who think Joe Namath is just some old guy who reminds Medicare recipients to check their zip codes for extra benefits. Strange as it might seem, not all folks know about Act I for these gents.

Similarly, there have undoubtedly been tens of thousands, likely many, many more who know Jeff Ward as strictly a provocative, compelling talk show host. The man who had listeners cussing and discussing him and his takes on current events for twenty years on KLBJ has since worked in a similar capacity for Gannett/Austin American-Statesman and now delivers tasty daily content for Hot Pie Media. His mantra is this: “My only agenda is to make you think.”

JEFF WARD – THE GAME CHANGER (squarespace.com)

But in another time, going back almost four decades, Jeff Ward was the Texas Longhorns leading scorer for an unprecedented four straight football seasons. From the pinnacle of an 11-0 regular season in ’83 to the depths of a losing senior season in ’86, UT’s kicker was the only positive constant during a tumultuous era.

Consider this. The ’83 UT defensive unit alone featured nine seniors drafted the next spring. And All-America safety Jerry Gray and future Lombardi Award winner Tony Degrate were just juniors, ready to return. All those heavy hitters plus Jeff Ward drove Texas tantalizingly close to raking in all the national marbles when he was a freshman. Ward’s 15 field goals often provided the W’s, by the narrowest of margins.

The term, “Most Valuable Player” is often used incorrectly, masquerading for the “Most Outstanding Player” designation. Though Jeff Ward never carted off a team MVP plaque while on the Forty Acres, he was undoubtedly the most valuable individual in burnt orange for four seasons. In fact, it’s hard to imagine any career Longhorn who didn’t play the quarterback position ever having the direct impact on as many wins as did Ward. The All-American, three-time All-SWC selection and team captain provided field goals that were the difference in 13 of the 32 wins Texas recorded during his playing days. His national record number of ten game-winning field goals still stands, tied but not bettered.

#23 Jeff Ward

#23 Jeff Ward

Jeff Ward

Jeff Ward

When Ward finished his UT career, he owned most of the single-game and career-kicking records except for distance. Russell Erxleben’s monster 67-yarder in 1977 was tied the same season but endures. Ward slammed home five long-range shots from more than fifty yards and had plenty more from beyond forty. Jeff’s top virtuoso performance dates to 1985 in wild, hostile Fayetteville where he later recalled his amusement at the sight of whiskey bottles sailed from the upper deck. Hog fans were not toasting the Horns’ kicker and his magnificent five-FG game that deflated a sellout crowd and defeated a ranked, heavily favored Arkansas team, 15-13.

Though he was a late-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 1987, Ward didn’t make his name in professional football He would instead build an image outside the pigskin population, not as a jock-turned-analyst but as an Austin radio host who wished to focus on issues he saw as larger than those at Bellmont Hall and old Memorial Stadium. No former Texas player has forged a sturdier, built-to-last public persona than has Ward. Hundreds, even thousands of Longhorn lettermen have discreetly gone on to achieve excellence in medicine, law, business, and myriad other fields. But Ward, first with his clutch kicking, then with his penetrating, issue-oriented public voice, has never cruised demurely down Quiet Boulevard. He does not suffer fools but has a wry sense of humor on-air and even in consenting to time-consuming interviews. When Ward got a look at TLSN’s laundry list of questions, he subtly assessed the upcoming interview as “thorough.” Later, he jokingly said he feared his responses might rival “War and Peace” for verbiage.

So call him the Tolstoy of Texas football or the Charles Dickens of kickin’. Loquacious, erudite, opinionated, and informed, Jeff Ward always has plenty to say. In this TLSN exclusive, he expounds on names spanning from Akers to Zuckerberg and reflects on a travesty of justice, a fateful NFL strike, an unlikely OU friendship, and Churchillian leadership.

Naturally, Ward has opinions about expensive locker room accouterments, a country club environment, and a puzzling dearth of pro-caliber talent at Texas. All that plus a taste for wine and song and an admission of what haunts him still. Sit back and uncork some vintage Jeff Ward.

1983

TLSN: Your freshman season, 1983, was, well, perfect for you and the Longhorns for four months. And then it wasn’t. But first, the good times. How magical was it en route to 11-0?

JEFF: First of all, to put on a Texas uniform was a dream come true for me. I grew up going to Texas games and sitting in the Knothole (north end zone) and jumping over the railing to chase Texas players for autographs.

I was confident enough in my abilities, so the deeper we got into our training camp my first year, the more comfortable and confident I became. You have to realize, I grew up on college and NFL sidelines because my father was a referee for many years, so I’d been exposed to big games and great players at the highest level. I think those experiences served me very well when I became a player. I had been around so many big games, including Texas games that he called, and I had experienced NFL environments, I always felt comfortable on the field. I felt at home.

It (The ’83 team) was an awesome collection of talent. Few college teams have ever had so much talent, and it was, arguably, the best defensive team of all time. In fact, I remember calling my Dad one night and telling him that I’m teammates with the best player I’ve ever seen… Jerry Gray. Even on the amazing defense that we had, Jerry stood out. I’ve never been around a player with that kind of range, nor a smarter player.

I expected to be on a great team that first year because I had followed the Texas program so closely. Being among the country’s best is the exact reason I wanted to play there. I grew up following Texas teams that were always among the best, so when we went 11-0 that year, it wasn’t all that unexpected for me or my teammates.

TLSN: In the waning moments of the Cotton Bowl against Georgia (1-2-84), Texas was up, 9-3 on your field goals, You even got tapped on the shoulder by a CBS reporter, ready to interview you as soon as the game ended. Then came UT’s infamous fumbled punt and an unlikely 10-9 Bulldog win. I had covered the Texas locker room in the wake of the ’77 team’s loss to Notre Dame that blew away a national title. It was like a funeral. What was this locker room like?

JEFF: I was about two minutes from being the MVP of the game to finish off an undefeated season. Even with that, I was furious to miss late in the game. It was unforgivable for me. I take a lot of blame for the Cotton Bowl loss. I did then and I still do. I went 18 of 21 that year, and I think at one point I had made 17 in a row, but I had a miss (Note: a 40-yard attempt into the wind) that would have made it 12-3 with a couple of minutes left.

That game is still in slow motion in my mind. There wasn’t anybody better than us, and we knew it. Georgia was only in the game because of our mistakes. Everything went wrong on that day. It was shocking. We blew chances on offense, I missed late in the game, our defense gave up a rare big play, and we made colossal special teams mistake that we hadn’t made all year. The feeling in the locker room was mostly shock… none of us could believe how badly we played that day. It was dead silent. I remember thinking that night and even the next year that surely we’ll be back and I’ll get another chance at a title. We didn’t. All these years later, that game haunts me. That’s not an exaggeration.

TLSN: That ’83 team had won with defense all year. The offense was hardly explosive most of the season but they got the job done. Rick McIvor had come off the bench to fire four TD passes against the Aggies, and though he had played only sparingly his senior season, he got the start over Rob Moerschell and Todd Dodge. Were you surprised? Who would you have chosen as the starter?

JEFF: A lot was made of the quarterback switch at the time, and still to this day, but Rick was fresh off a ridiculously great two and half quarters against Texas A&M, so going with his “hot hand” made some sense. Yes, Rob had managed that team incredibly well all year, but the truth is, the quarterback switch was not the reason that we lost the game. In fact, Rick started off really hot that day… We had a ball go right through a guy’s hands in the end zone early in the game. We settled for three, but had we just made the catch on a perfectly thrown ball, the game would have never been close. Rob was a great friend of mine and I hated it for him, but there’s no way I could fault the quarterback position for costing us the game. It might have been the one position that played fairly well that day. It was the rest of the offense and me that struggled.

BaseBall

TLSN: You had actually considered playing college baseball. What was that all about?

JEFF: I look back at my time at Texas and I really regret not playing for Coach Gus (Cliff Gustafson) while I was there. It was more of my passion than playing football. I got recruited by several schools to play wide receiver coming out of Westlake High School, and as much as I wanted to catch passes more than kick, my preference would have been to play baseball in college. I played with and against a lot of those guys growing up and played in arguably the best high school program at the time at Westlake, so I think I could have fit in very well. Coach Gus and I talked several times, and he agreed that I’d fit in well. He told me I’d have to be an outfielder (Ward played infield and outfield positions in high school) because I would be getting a late start each season, but his style of play of defense and speed was a very good fit for me. I played summer ball with a lot of those guys each year I was in school, and while I was happy that they were routinely in the College World Series, it ate me up that I wasn’t out there.

1984 and O.u.

TLSN: The ’84 season seemed to pick up where the perfect regular season had left off. Texas had big wins over Penn State and Auburn and was ranked number one when the OU game arrived. It was uncharacteristically rainy, chilly, miserable weather. Fans remember bad officiating on both sides in that game that you tied with a 32-yard field goal as time expired. A lot to sum up, Jeff…but what was that strange day like?

JEFF: Everything was set up perfectly for the week. It was a 1 vs. 2 matchup, we were both playing well, there was star power on both sides, and plenty of trash talk during the week. You might even say that week created the character that became the “Boz” (Oklahoma linebacker Brian Bosworth). His comments were posted all over our locker room, but we had no idea who he was. Sports Illustrated had a reporter spend a few days following me leading up the game to get a feel for what the rivalry was like. I remember telling him the bus ride over to the Cotton Bowl is a must-see because of the chaos and crowds. But none of us could have predicted how weird that day was going to be. It didn’t just rain, it was a relentless downpour. We were a team that was having success throwing in the first few games and the conditions really hurt us that day.

Truthfully, I’ve never been involved in a more intense, chaotic game. Neither of us played very well, but the game was played in an angry way, and the entire stadium had an angry vibe, for good reason.

It felt like the entire second half was a hopeless quest to find dry footballs. No kidding, we spent much of the time screaming at each other about finding dry footballs. By the fourth quarter, every ball weighed about three pounds. When we went down 15-12, Fred called me over and asked me where we needed to get the ball in case of a field goal… it’s a common conversation as a game is winding down… I told him it depends on if we can find a dry ball. He turned and snapped at one of our equipment people and said, “Do we not have a dry ball?” The poor kid replied, “We’re trying, Coach.” I told him we’d be fine if we could get the ball to the 35. He said, “We’re going to score anyway.” That was his mindset on our final drive.

It was impossible to get ready. One, because I was soaked, but two, the ABC camera crew wouldn’t get out of my face. In fact, they followed me all the way to the sideline to get ready to go out. As we were driving and well within my range… an impressive drive given the conditions, but when we got the ball to the 15-yard-line, I started to walk out assuming we’d kick. Fred screamed at me, “Get back here,” and then I heard him discussing another play… a fade route to the corner. Given the time left, most of us looked at each other in shock. I stayed halfway out on the field because I figured he’d go ahead and send me out. I was wrong. Sure enough, we threw the fade route to the corner. It was a dangerous call, but he was set on winning. From our sideline, all we could see was the ball in the air and then the crowd in the endzone went crazy. I’ve never seen a stadium, coaches, and players react as they did at the moment. The stadium erupted either wanting an interference call or that the ball was picked off by OU. I jogged out to a scene of total chaos. There must have been 30 people on the field when I jogged out. The offense and defensive guys stayed out there to argue their case, and Barry Switzer had tried to run out onto the field in a fit, but he tripped over the headset wires. He went ballistic. The officials were trying to restore order, but it was hopeless. We’re standing in the pouring rain, waiting for order to be restored and all I’m thinking is the ball is getting soaked. We had no dry towels, and I yelled to my deep snapper, Terry Steelhammer, “Hammer, are your hands dry?” He screamed back to me “nope.” Very reassuring, right? I knock the field goal through and the next thing I see is Barry Switzer running by me to chase the referee up the tunnel. Even better. The ball we used to make the kick was stamped with Oklahoma. It was their ball and it weighed five pounds.

We get back to the locker room and Fred is furious. He steps up on a bench in our cramped locker room and he says, “I hate it. If we had it my way, we’d go finish this in the street.”

1984 Season collapse and bowl debacle

TLSN: Wow. Just…wow. After that team won a few more and was 6-0-1, Texas suddenly lost three of its last four regular-season games. There were stories that some of the seniors had checked out and that Coach Akers essentially forced the team to accept a bid to the short-lived Freedom Bowl in Anaheim, a stunning 55-14 loss to Iowa. How bizarre and disheartening was the collapse of that ’84 team?

JEFF: We started just like most of us thought we would. We rolled through an impressive list of top teams, but it was the first sign of what was to come… we were starting to lack depth. It was a brutal schedule. I think we played ranked teams in six of our first seven games. We paid a serious price. We lost a lot of top-line players to injury and were limping home down the stretch. It showed. Looking back on it, this was the first sign that the (monetary) payoffs by programs in the league and around the country were starting to dilute the talent pool. When I look back, our meltdown of that season was the first sign of how lawless things were about to become in the old Southwest Conference. Two things jumped out about our meltdown… one was agents’ influence over players and their future prospects, and two, all of the sudden programs that were lacking talent, were light years better. We had quite a few NFL prospects and they, rightly, made little effort in our meaningless bowl game. And we were starting to lose talent. Our back-ups to those NFL prospects were not future NFL players themselves. Playing in the bowl game that year was a bad idea and it was used against Fred later on.

Overview of Jeff’s career

TLSN: You had a lot of personal highlights over your four seasons, setting records and being the difference maker so many times. Lots of games in which you were the whole offense. And plenty of kicks of over 45 and 50 yards. Any particular favorite moments?

JEFF: For a long time, I held the NCAA record for game-winning field goals (Note: Ward’s mark has been tied but not broken), and I was fortunate enough to be a difference-maker in a lot of games. I took a lot of heat, justifiably, I guess, for once saying after a game, “If you give me a chance to beat you, I will.” Of course, it sounds cocky, and it is…but in context, I meant it honestly. What a really cool thing to finish off a game. I loved it. I loved the build-up. It’s everything any player would have ever wanted, so I was being honest when I answered a reporter’s question about game-winning kicks. But I don’t remember those things all that well.

I remember the ones I missed, and I remember losing, but I do have a takeaway moment that will stay with me forever and it will sound cheesy, but I was one of our team captains my senior year. It meant a lot to me, as it should any player that put on the jersey. My greatest memory as a player was this: We were playing OU and I was sitting by the locker room door and I heard the knock on the door of the locker room at the Cotton Bowl, and the official said, “Coach, we need your Captains!”

Remember, I made the exact same walk with my Dad a few times when he was an official in that game. I was on the sideline watching Earl Campbell against OU when I was little. I made the tunnel walk as a child, and then, as a team captain for The University of Texas. I’ve never soaked in a moment like I soaked it in that day. Even Barry Switzer called me over to chat with me about my career before the coin toss. We’ve actually been friends ever since. All that was the most impactful moment of my athletic career.

Jeff wards shares accolades

TLSN: Texas had a record of 17 players drafted after your freshman year. And you have said that injuries and a lack of quality depth from ’84 through ’86 diminished those Longhorn teams. But you played with all-time standouts in each season. What are your recollections of some of those teammates from across the years?

JEFF: I’m a believer that the NFL Draft is the best barometer of a college program. Forget recruiting reports. The Draft tells you what kind of talent you have. I was part of a Texas program that had more players drafted than any in history. I was lucky in that I was able to be around some of the greatest players in Texas history. For a number of reasons, these guys stand out:

Jerry Gray

Jerry Gray

Doug Dawson

Doug Dawson

Tony Degrate

Tony Degrate

Ty Allert

Ty Allert

John Hagy

John Hagy

Stephen Braggs

Stephen Braggs

Eric Jefferies

Eric Jefferies

Jerry Gray is the best player I’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen a player cover as much of the field as Jerry did. He was everywhere. A perfect tackler AND a spectacular defender against the pass. He played the run and the pass, unlike any defensive back I’ve ever seen. Jerry was the best all-around football player I’ve ever seen.

Doug Dawson was the quickest offensive lineman I’ve ever seen.

Tony Degrate is one of the most eclectic players I’ve known. Tony wasn’t just a great player, but what people didn’t know is that Tony was and is a phenomenal artist.

Ty Allert was the smartest player I’ve been around. I loved watching Ty sniff outplays. I played with so many great linebackers, but I’ve never seen a player detect plays better than Ty.

John Hagy and Richard Peavy are the two hardest hitters, and Stephen Braggs and Eric Jeffries are two of the most admirable leaders I had a chance to know.

Bo Jackson is the most impressive player I’ve ever seen on the field, and that includes NFL players.

The year Fred Akers got fired, Eric, Stephen, and I spent a lot of time answering tough questions and trying to hold the program together in a difficult time. Great teammates and two very stoic guys.

Jeff’s NFL Career

TLSN: How hard was it to hang up your cleats after being drafted by Dallas but not making the final roster? And did you have a plan for entering the working world away from football?

JEFF: My career ended in an odd way. I spent so much of my life in and around football, so it’s weird to admit that I lost interest in everything about the game but making money. My last few years in the game were not healthy. I spent much of my senior year at Texas and the early days of my NFL career battling injuries. I suffered ankle and toe problems for much of my senior year, and admittedly, I took far too many shots. I was lucky to be drafted by Dallas because I was not healthy when they took me. I ended up beating out a half dozen guys in training camp and preseason, but just when I thought I had made it, I missed a 53-yard field goal at Candlestick Park against the 49ers and they cut me.

When they cut me, I needed to get away from the game so I took my money and enrolled in school to get another degree. What many people may not know is that for 12 years I’ve taught a Marketing course at UT. Oddly enough, I’ve never enjoyed anything more. I loved the academic challenge.

My football-free life didn’t last long because I got a very good offer to sign with the Atlanta Falcons and I was there for a year before going on injured reserve. They paid me well and weren’t too happy that I was not healthy, so they let me go. Part of NFL life for a lot of guys, like me, is bouncing from place to place. I was running low on energy and patience with the NFL life, so I enrolled back in school to get another degree.

I had a little money and went back to school and loved it. I quickly knocked out another degree and I enjoyed a life without football. Then one Sunday afternoon while watching an Oilers game, their kicker at the time broke his leg in a game, and the next morning my phone rang. They asked if I would be interested in a workout. I went and was as good as I’ve ever been. I was offered a contract on the spot and flew home with the idea that I was going to turn right around and move to Houston for the remaining nine or 10 games of the season. I got a call early the next morning that the players had voted to strike, and my agreement was not going to be recognized. It was then that I realized that it was not meant to be, and I turned down the strike offer and never looked back.

TLSN: I had never known that about your shot with the Oilers, just in time for the strike. Unbelievable.

Reflections – Coach Akers

TLSN: I want to backtrack one more time to the Forty Acres and Fred Akers. You have never been lacking in confidence and I’ve read and heard before that you liked Fred’s attitudes about confidence, positive thinking and such. Did Fred take too much blame from the power brokers and fans when things went south in the mid-’80s?

JEFF: Absolutely. I think most Texas fans would take his numbers today, right? What a lot of alumni didn’t know at the time, was the widespread cheating was diluting the talent pool of players that would typically come to Texas. I saw a dramatic change in my four years. We went from having 17 drafted to maybe four of us my senior year. Guys that would have been a slam dunk recruit for us, were going elsewhere. We knew it because we were taking them out on their visits. We heard it all. In my opinion, had there been patience and we left (recruiting coordinator and coach) Ken Dabbs, Fred Akers and his staff in place to get through the cheating years, the program would have been fine.

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/rise-and-fall-of-akers

Jeff as a talk show host.

TLSN: Sometime after transitioning away from former UT kicker Jeff Ward, you came to be widely known as Talk Radio’s Jeff Ward for several generations. You’ve earned a rep for challenging listeners to think harder about relevant issues and allow themselves to be intellectually stimulated. Choosing from among many, what are a couple of topics you’ve found to be most compelling?

Jeff Ward

JEFF: I approach my job today the same way as the day I started, and that is to be prepared, be intellectually honest, and be fearless. That’s what I owe the audience. It’s an odd relationship I’ve developed with the audience. I describe my job as a barstool discussion with 500,000 people. I’ve always been a talk radio fan. The spoken word space, I call it, is having another revival because of podcasting. Smart storytellers are very valuable, again.

A few things stand out in my 24 years as a host… Two shocking and defining moments that we all lived through put me in the position of talking the audience through the events. I sat in the studio on 9/11 and I remember saying, “I don’t know what to say, and I shouldn’t be behind the mic right now.” I remember watching and discussing the Columbine Massacre as it played out. At the time, it was so foreign to us, and I tried to describe the scene to people.

It’s been odd, at times, as well. I remember Austin mayoral candidate Jennifer Gale telling the council I was her friend right before she made her campaign proclamation to “provide vitamins to all Austinites.” I remember the creepy moment a murderer doing a jail cell interview started talking about me as if we were friends. Then I started getting letters from him. (Ward notes this: “He’s not getting out, ever.”) But the interview that stands out was with Anthony Graves. A guy that I played baseball with growing up only to find out he was convicted of murders he didn’t commit. He was on Death Row for eight years, until a prosecutor uncovered what she said was the “greatest travesty of justice she’d ever seen.” He was ultimately exonerated and the real killer was put to death. But in a powerful moment, I asked him, “Do you think we’ve executed an innocent person in Texas?” He said, “Absolutely.” I fired back, “Why?” and he said, “Because you tried to kill me, twice.” I could feel an entire listening base stop everything that they were doing to let that statement sink in.

TLSN: That is extremely powerful. And thought-provoking. If you could interview anyone in contemporary America, who would it be and why?

JEFF: He certainly is not American, but I consider him the Winston Churchill of our time and that’s Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with a translator, of course. He’s become a worldwide hero unlike any that we’ve known. He’s the Churchill of social media. A master communicator. As for contemporary Americans, there are probably two, and the same rules apply: Nothing is off the table. One is Admiral Bill McRaven. I want to hear every detail of tracking down the world’s most wanted man, and I want to know how the decision went down to fly into Pakistan in the middle of the night to get him. I want to hear every dramatic detail. The other is Mark Zuckerberg. He’d likely be terrible to interview, but he’s the most powerful person of the past 20 years, and the creator of the most powerful media company in our lifetime. I want to know if HE knows how powerful he’s been. He’s tapped into one out of every two people on the planet. That’s amazing and terrifying.

TLSN: That really makes me want to ask more about “dream” interviewees, especially if we could travel back in time. But back to Texas football, of course. It’s been tough enough for fans from 2010 through 2020…but then came last season and that squandering of the big lead against OU, a six-game losing streak, and an unthinkable loss to a team that’s always near the bottom of D-1’s 130 teams. You spoke out on Austin radio last year in the fallout from that Kansas loss and mentioned “management by deep pockets” at UT. You used “out of touch” and “disconnected” to, I think, describe both off-the-field and player conduct on the field. Two-part question: First, what are the parallels between the slide that began when you were at UT, that continued largely for a decade, and the miseries of the last dozen seasons?

And second, how the hell can things get back on track for Longhorn football? In less than two thousand words, of course.

JEFF: I can’t believe the loss to Kansas, but Kansas deserved to win. What’s shocking is that Kansas was the better team. I hate to sound like an old guy calling for the old days. I am, and I do, but the “money is no object” mentality at Texas has a grip on Texas football, and it shows. It’s been a long time coming and it can’t correct itself for two reasons… One, it’s a pampered program where money IS no object. How did players earn $8,000 in lockers with videos of themselves? I’m betting Tom Brady doesn’t have an $8,000 locker and he’s fine. It’s a country club environment in every way and I think that mentality shows up on the field.

Now, before someone screams, “Other programs spend a lot of money and spoil their players,” I’ll say that’s true. The difference between the dominating programs these days, and this is the biggest problem for Texas, is those programs are able to have a “next man up” roster that fixes everything. What players are looking for is a path to the NFL and the top programs now have a talent pool that provides a day-to-day cutthroat environment to keep your starting job. The guy behind you will cut your heart out to get to the next level.

It’s like the NFL. There’s talent everywhere. They battle every day. The Texas “softness” can’t correct itself until there’s enough NFL-like talent so guys have to battle every day to keep their job. It’s a tough cycle to break, no doubt, but I think at the elite programs, there’s a battle among players to get better. I saw it on the good teams I played on… it’s an everyday fight. Talent takes care of everything. Are we closer? I hope so, but I’ve given up on saying yes. The NFL Draft tells you every year.

TLSN: If you, Jeff Ward, were appointed as “Czar of College Football,” what can you do, and how does the NIL hot potato get handled?

JEFF: The problem the college game is experiencing isn’t because players are getting paid, sort of. The problem is the industry is and was completely ill-prepared for any of the changes. The college game’s lack of leadership is creating an unmanageable environment that I think will only get more chaotic. There are no guardrails. Dabo Swinney and Nick Saban have raised the issue recently. They’re right. League commissioners can’t get control. University Presidents are afraid to get control of their own programs, and coaches are afraid to say no to any recruit. What you have is a directionless environment with no rules because there is no leadership structure, and coaches don’t want to implement any rules out of fear the next blue-chip prospect will go elsewhere. A lot of money is floating around and while you may argue the payers “deserve” it, there is no guidance in place.

It’s like the ’80s all over again, but slightly more above board.

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/demise-of-the-swc

NFL owners have a clear vision and a plan on how they want their industry to be run. They also make sure they all are playing by the same rules, while the college game is void of any structure. While the money is huge, don’t be shocked to see veteran coaches step down, and younger coaches jump at the chance to go to the NFL.

TLSN: Yep. My blood pressure is up. It’s wild out there. Let’s lower it a notch as we wind down. Gotta ask this localized question. You’ve grown up with Austin. What was or is a better place, Austin of the ’80s, or Austin now?

JEFF: Austin in the ’80s was magical. And I’ve heard the same about the ’70s. It was bar after bar of great music, and while Sixth Street had plenty of drunks, it was still a place for locals. Today it’s a tourist trap. The city has lost its soul… the cool hippie vibe I grew up with is largely gone. So are the artists and musicians. It’s all a distant memory. So if I had to pick, I’d say being in high school and college in the ’80s over today, and today’s Austin is pretty great for being an adult. The food scene has never been better than it is right now.

Phil Dawson

Phil Dawson

TLSN: If Jeff Ward can’t be picked to kick the biggest, most clutch, most “money” field goal ever at UT, which former Longhorn would you send in to nail it?

JEFF: Me, of course. Even though you’d be right to say that Phil Dawson and Justin Tucker were better than me, overall, I’d still pick myself for the winning kick. As far as the best ever at Texas… it goes Phil Dawson, Justin Tucker, then me. Justin is a future first-ballot NFL Hall of Famer, but Phil’s body of work at Texas was better, I think. Here’s the great thing about them both… flip a coin and either would make the game-winner. Send either of them out for the game-winner, and you’ll be right. That’s how great those two guys were. Great technicians. Full of confidence. Great all-around guys.

TLSN: Okay, before the final gun sounds on this interview…and thanks a million…what’s something offbeat, surprising, or just really off-the-wall that most people wouldn’t suspect about Jeff Ward?

JEFF: You mean other than me being offbeat overall? Here’s a weird list… I compete in triathlons, I’m a huge Frank Sinatra fan and a wine nerd. I’ve taken a few sommelier classes. And I’m such a Sinatra fan that I attended his 100th birthday celebration at his family’s restaurant in Las Vegas.

THE – TLSN TLSN TLSN TLSN TLSN-END

Pat Brown

The post Jeff Ward interview by Larry Carlson appeared first on Texas Legacy Support Network.

The last Longhorn to take home the Outland Trophy — some four decades ago — is allowing himself a short break from another busy workday to reminisce a little on this broiling summer afternoon.

A framed poster of Vince Lombardi’s “What It Takes To Be Number One” credo is the only noticeable hint of football ties in an otherwise basic, utilitarian office.

But Brad Shearer still vividly recalls one of the most storied defensive plays in Texas Longhorn lore.

Just a few minutes remained on the clock at the Cotton Bowl that steamy October day in 1977. Texas was clinging to a 13-6 lead, but Oklahoma had driven to the UT 5-yard yard line.

It was fourth-and-1.

A year earlier, a terrific Texas defense — without much help from any offense — had played an all-time gem, allowing a potent Sooner team just two first downs until a Longhorn fumble gave OU some momentum and then a touchdown to tie the game, 6-6, with 1:38 remaining. Oklahoma’s center then snapped the ball over the kicker’s head on the PAT attempt and a desperation pass was intercepted.

The game ended in a deflating tie.

Darrell Royal exited the field, bent over and dry-heaved en route to the locker room. Less than two months later, as soon as his only non-winning season (5-5-1) in two decades at the Forty Acres was over, Royal would retire.

A year later and Texas was a different team, with youthful coach Fred Akers unleashing Earl Campbell from the wishbone into the veer and I-formation. OU was again a top national contender, entering the day ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25. Texas, a surprising No. 5, had outscored its first three opponents 184-15 and was on the verge of a huge win.

But now the Horns were facing a nauseating case of deja vu.

***

Shearer enjoyed one of the finest careers ever for a Texas defensive player, winning the Outland Trophy in 1977.

Photo is Brad with Luskey

Shearer, a stellar 250-pound tackle anchoring a defense filled with super sophomores including safety Johnnie Johnson (father of Horns Collin Johnson and Kirk Johnson), knew this was his last chance at denting Barry Switzer’s crimson-clad machine. The Steers hadn’t beaten OU since 1970.

Shearer’s Texas class might become the fourth straight class with not a single “W” against their arch-rival.

Thomas Lott, Oklahoma’s jet-fast quarterback, looked over the line and took the snap.

“Thomas took the ball down the right side,” Shearer narrates now. “I just scooted all the way down the line and Thomas decided to cut it up.”

The rest is in the UT history books.

“Johnnie hit him high and I hit him low.”

No gain.

Texas, backed up against its goal line, then managed only one yard on three runs. But All-American punter Russell Erxleben coolly launched a 69-yard rocket and Texas finished out the drought-buster victory.

“(The ’76 tie) was probably the most frustrating moment of my entire time at Texas, and probably the best moment was when we beat ’em,” Shearer explains, leaning forward from behind his desk at work in San Antonio.

The ’77 season is one of the most beloved in Longhorn history. The Horns, picked for a second-division finish in the Southwest Conference, went 11-0 in the regular season.

They beat OU after UT’s first two quarterbacks went out for the season in the first quarter. Untested Randy McEachern aided more than a bit by Campbell’s Mmm-mmm good Heisman season, then capably managed the offense.

The defense didn’t even surrender a rushing touchdown until game eight. And a standout defender named Shearer was a consensus All-American and became the third Longhorn in 15 years — following Scott Appleton in ’63 and Tommy Nobis in ’65 — to win the coveted Outland Trophy, awarded to the country’s top interior lineman.

No UT player has won it since.

Ten years before Shearer’s finest season, he had been just another pre-teen with music on his mind at least as much as football. One of his young buddies was a guitar player, so Brad signed up for lessons — $5 per hour — from the boyfriend of his pal’s big sister. The accomplished tutor had a garage band, the Moving Sidewalks, that was getting some acclaim in Houston. After months of working with Shearer, he provided sage counsel.

“One day he said, ‘’Brad, you’ve got to find something else to do because you’re tone-deaf and your fingers don’t work on the guitar,'” Shearer laughs now. “So I took that advice.”

And so it was that Billy Gibbons, soon to be the frontman/lead singer/guitarist for ZZ Top, had perhaps first nudged a growing boy away from chasing dreams and onto catching ball carriers.

Shearer’s profile photo representing his induction into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame shows off his long locks from his Westlake days.

High school was an odyssey for Shearer. Born and raised in Houston, a teen-aged Brad had been forced to adjust to the death of his father several years earlier. He and his mother, an apartment builder, bounced back and forth between Houston and Austin. He played freshman football at Austin’s powerhouse Reagan High in ’70 when the Raiders won state, then was set to play both ways at Houston’s Robert E. Lee as a sophomore.

But he was denied eligibility in spite of a “single mom” plea. Now it was back to the Capitol City for the first day of Brad’s junior year. His mother was having a house built on the outskirts of Austin and Shearer showed up for classes at a 2A school (when 4A was the state’s largest classification) named Westlake, in just its third year of existence.

Forty-seven years later, Shearer sports a mischievous grin as he flashes back to day one in the Westlake counselor’s office. He noticed her dialing up someone on her phone and saying, “Some big sonofagun just checked in here. This guy’s like 6-3 and 240.”

When Shearer got out of first period, Coach Ken Dabbs was waiting for the king-sized kid.

He had him report to the coach’s office for sixth period, promising to get his class schedule adjusted. They talked for most of practice, Dabbs quickly arranging for a big, big uniform to be shipped in pronto from Rooster Andrews’ Sporting Goods.

Shearer managed to suit up late in “sticky, never-been-washed pants” and walked onto a dirt field for the last bit of practice. The Chaps were running 220s.

Not having done much in the way of football for a year, Shearer was quickly gassed and remembers being “clapped in” by the rest of the team, urging on their new, XXL teammate.

Still, Dabbs thought he had made a catch. And Shearer, for his part, proved to be a powerful persuader.

Brad’s face crinkles with glee now, recalling his words to Dabbs.

“Coach, I’ve never run 220 yards to tackle or block anyone. If we can cut those (220s) down to forties, I’m in.”

As Shearer recalls, Dabbs said, “Well, I’ll think about it.”

“The next day, Coach lines us up after practice and says ‘Aight, let’s get 10 forties,” Shearer laughs.

Maybe Brad’s teammates were beginning to like the newest Chaparral.

But one thing grated on the veterans. They were all following the rules of the times, with hair neatly trimmed above their ears, and the transfer guy had bushy, long hair.

“Hell, it was the ’70s,” Brad shrugs.

Looking back, Shearer says two team leaders, Beck and Ingraham, went to Dabbs and asked him when he was gonna make the big guy cut his hair. The two stud veterans didn’t appreciate the preferential treatment of Shearer in an era of longer and longer hair among not just high school and college students but even many athletes.

Shearer remembers that Dabbs pondered the question, then surprised Rick and Alec with his response: “Well, I don’t know about you boys, but…I’m thinking about growing mine out.”

Talk about a players’ coach. Dabbs might have been the first one.

“By the end of that season, our whole team looked like Golden Richards wannabes,” Shearer cracks, with an arcane reference only old-school Dallas Cowboys fans can appreciate.

***

Campbell and Shearer were members of the same recruiting class that nearly won Texas a national championship following an unbeaten regular season in 1977..

Long locks aside, it was the start of golden years for the new school, its coach and the biggest, most talented Chaps.

In less than 18 months, Dabbs would become a UT assistant coach and the recruiter in charge of bird-dogging a certain stud running back out of East Texas.

Dabbs knew talent. The Longhorns and the former Westlake boss would sign three recruits from the small 2A school in 1974 — Shearer, Ingraham, and Beck. Beck would be dogged by injuries at UT but became a big-time businessman and philanthropist. He died tragically in a helicopter crash at age 50. Dabbs would become a longtime coach and ace recruiter — he’s now in the Longhorn Hall of Honor — while Shearer would win the Outland and Ingraham would earn All-SWC honors at guard, paving the way for Campbell.

“The Tyler Rose” always credited his offensive line at Texas, regularly singling out Rick for his prowess and commitment, later calling Ingraham “the toughest man I knew.”

It was quite a crop from little Westlake.

“Coach Dabbs was absolutely the best thing that ever happened to me in my life,” says Shearer. “I mean the guy took me in.”

Shearer didn’t even make a campus visit to UT. He did take a recruiting trip to OU but says it was merely a favor for a Sooner player, Obie Moore, who had befriended him back in his days at Reagan. Texas A&M recruited him hard and Shearer’s dad had been an Aggie as had his godparents and many family friends. Shearer remembers being in Kyle Field in 1967, wearing maroon and white, when the Ags beat Texas the only time in Royal’s first 18 seasons at UT.

But Shearer didn’t have any doubts about where he would choose to matriculate. Dabbs told Brad what time Royal would phone about a scholarship, and the youngster immediately accepted the legend’s offer.

“I just wanted to be a Texas Longhorn,” says Shearer who still sports his cherished “T” ring on a beefy finger. “But I got a lot of calls from my dad’s friends when I signed with Texas.”

***

Shearer played on Royal’s final squad in 1976, a 5-5-1 season for the Longhorns. (Photo: Bettmann, Getty)

When Shearer showed up for two-a-days preceding fall classes in August 1974, Texas was coming off six consecutive Southwest Conference championships, including two national titles.

His freshman class was not the first to be eligible for varsity play (that had come in ’72) but it was the first smaller signing class — as regulated by the NCAA — that provided fewer players, resulting in no freshman teams for experience. Every recruit was now essentially “on varsity.”

Rick+Ingraham.jpg

Brad had two close buddies, Ingraham and Beck, to ease him into the process and quickly recognized another fellow freshman when the muscular young man appeared.

“I was sitting in the locker room when Earl walked in. Gee whiz, he looked 30 years old, like he was literally chiseled out of stone,” Shearer recollects. “I was happy he was on my team.”

Midway through two-a-days, before classes started, UT’s Memorial Stadium opened up for its first-ever rock concert. Call it fate. It was “ZZ Top’s First Annual Barn Dance and Barbecue,” with Gibbons and his now renowned “Li’l Ol’ Band from Texas” headlining over Santana, Joe Cocker, and others. Plywood, bandstands, monster amplifiers and all the accouterments of a music festival rocked and littered the football temple from 3 p.m. until midnight, with 80,000 fans attending despite the Labor Day weekend heat.

“We go to the concert, we party. No way they’re gonna have this field cleaned up by tomorrow for two-a-days,” Shearer’s freshman reasoning went. Maybe there would be a day off.

“We show up and, man, everything was gone.”

The show — rugged practice time — would go on. But not any more concerts, not under Royal’s watch.

Fuming about holes burned in the new Astroturf, “Daddy D” wanted UT out of the rock ‘n’ roll biz. When Royal talked, the power brokers listened. The Longhorn Band would provide the venerable stadium’s musical entertainment, and not another concert was hosted there until 1995.

When the ’74 season began at last with a road win in cooler weather against Boston College, Shearer still wasn’t settled in, not knowing whether the coaches who wanted him on offense would win out over those, like Brad, favoring defense. But injuries quickly knocked out two veterans on the D-line and Shearer was glad to have a mentor in a talented senior who helped him learn the ropes and become a starter by late in that first season.

“Doug English taught me how to use my hands,” Shearer says. According to Shearer, the senior tackle who would go on to Pro Bowl status with the Detroit Lions, repaid Shearer’s gratitude by telling others that Brad’s presence helped him by sometimes putting double-team blocks on the freshman, freeing English from the burden.

***

Shearer helped Texas win two Southwest Conference titles in his time with the Longhorns. (Photo: Photo via University of Texas, 247Sports)

As a sophomore, Shearer made all-conference for a team that went 10-2 behind the offensive 1-2 running punch of Earl and Marty Akins and a defense paced by Brad and a pass-rushing freshman runt named Tim Campbell, one of three Tyler siblings on the squad.

Things went sour in ’76. Injuries and the lack of a running quarterback to guide the wishbone doomed Texas to the aforementioned 5-5-1 record, and the resignation of Royal, weary and ready to abandon the headphones at the age of 52.

When Akers was named to replace Royal, Shearer and those in his senior class were already familiar with their new boss. Akers had been at UT as an assistant before taking his first head coaching job at Wyoming for two seasons. But familiarity did not breed complacency.

Shearer missed spring drills to successfully rehab an injury, then found himself at “like, seventh string” when the fall depth charts appeared in August.

“You had to go prove yourself all over,” says Shearer, acknowledging the ways of a new coaching staff, “but by the end of the first week I was starting.”

As already documented, the season was a magical one for Akers, Campbell, Shearer, McEachern and the entire Longhorn Nation, long before it was referred to that way.

But while Texas closed out a perfect regular season by throttling A&M, 57-28, in College Station — 10 years after a pre-teen Shearer had rooted for the Aggies in the same spot — one key piece of the Longhorn team went down. All-SWC middle linebacker Lance Taylor separated a shoulder. He would miss the Cotton Bowl matchup against Notre Dame, essentially a national title defense for number one Texas.

With Taylor out, Texas shuffled the defensive deck but had no real experience or talent to replace him. And then there was this: The Horns handed over six turnovers after a year of very, very few giveaways. The Irish had only to move 30 yards or less for their touchdowns in what turned into a nightmarish day for the burnt orange.

For Notre Dame, it meant an instant national title that the Domers, previously ranked number five, probably shouldn’t have had a shot at.

“Ever have a bad day, man?” a stunned Akers later asked some of us in the assembled media in a hushed locker room.

“We had a bad day, man,” he answered himself.

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about the Notre Dame loss,” Shearer confesses now. “We all played pretty poorly.”

***

In the spring of ’78, the Chicago Bears selected Shearer in the third round of the NFL draft.

What had seemingly come easy at Westlake and UT — winning and success — wasn’t simple with the Bears of the late ’70s and early ’80s. Shearer was nagged with knee problems and forced to sit out the entire ’79 season, the only winning year in his career that came to a close during the 1981 season. Repeatedly having to have a knee drained and unable to compete at one-hundred percent health-wise, Shearer said he woke up one day and simply said to himself, “I’m done.”

“It wasn’t that tough because they didn’t pay us anything,” Shearer grins wryly.

“I really enjoyed it and I liked the organization,” he says of his time in the Windy City, just a few years before Mike Ditka rebuilt the Monsters of the Midway and won a Super Bowl.

“When I played, I played okay but I couldn’t play (a full season each year) with a bad wheel,” Shearer concludes.

These days Shearer plays the role of a busy, involved, veteran businessman. He’s Vice President of Satterfield & Pontikes, a leading San Antonio construction firm. He’s a veteran road warrior, too, still commuting back to Austin where he resides with his wife of more than four decades, Nancy.

They have a daughter and son — Calen, who lettered in football at Texas Tech and now serves as Business Development Manager at the same company as his dad. And both kids have provided Brad and Nancy with plenty of joy in the form of one grandkid each.

“I’m fortunate my kids and grandkids live in Austin,” Shearer beams. “We see them a lot and we have a great relationship.”

In the little spare time Shearer has away from work and family, he says he still likes cranking up the old-time rock and roll, especially the tunes of ZZ Top and the Rolling Stones. And he enjoys hunting and some bay fishing while also maintaining long-time bonds of friendship.

“Rick Ingraham lives down the street from me,” Shearer smiles. “Really a bunch of high school guys I ran with is who I’m still running with.”

And Shearer is a season-ticket holder for Longhorn home games. He was happy with last season’s progress and looks forward to this fall.

“I think we’re showing something. I don’t like losing four games but nobody does.

“I think they’ve changed the culture. I’m excited about it. I know it’s a grind but, hey man, you want to be successful, you’re not gonna sit around at a country club and do anything.”

Shearer readily acknowledges that playing defense in today’s college game is not what it was, for better or worse, four decades ago.

“I liked lining up, knowing they’re just comin’. To me, that was football.

“The game is fast now. I don’t think I could chase the quarterback 27 times a game,”

***

Shearer loves what Ehlinger, he himself a Westlake product, brings to the field. (Photo: Chuck Cook, USA TODAY Sports)

The ’77 Outland winner knows other things have changed in college ball.

“When (the coaches) cut us loose after spring, we didn’t see those guys until two-a-days. These guys are going year-round. They put in a lot of time. I respect ’em for that.”

Shearer, who knows a little about injuries and playing in pain — he once had to survive a UT practice filled with goal-line drills with a just-injured arm taped to his chest (it turned out to be a dislocated elbow) — has had a hip replaced and now awaits the replacement of both knees in 2020.

But when he is asked to ponder the outlook for a UT football team should a certain prominent fellow Westlake alumnus get hurt this fall, Shearer immediately dismisses the thought.

“I can guarantee Sam Ehlinger is not the type of kid that ever is worried about being hurt. He goes into the game going full bore. It’s never even in his mind. What comes, comes. It’s football. He’s gonna play hard no matter what. He’s not gonna shy away from anything. That’s what you’ve gotta love about him.”

As Shearer looks ahead to a battle with LSU on Sept. 7: “It’s gonna be a telling tale,” he says.

What brings the happiest memories from among all the successes he can look back upon?

Would it be the Westlake days of forging lifelong connections to a coach and friends?

The Royal era at Texas?

“The stop” that punched out OU or the entire magnificent ’77 season and Outland Trophy?

Stepping onto the turf of Soldier Field for the first time?

“Probably of all my involvement in football, my favorite time was coaching those young kids (son Calen and his buddies, some 20-25 years ago) in Pop Warner,” Shearer booms. “I had a blast. We’d load up the Suburbans and I’d stop and get ’em Snickers bars and play ZZ Top.

“Rock ‘n roll, all the way to the game.”

The big guy is smiling broadly now, checking his watch as a business meeting nears. “I still see a bunch of those kids today,” he marvels. “They’re real ZZ Top fans, too.”

Somewhere, Billy Gibbons, Rock & Rock Hall of Famer and one-time career counselor, is smiling. That Shearer kid did alright. Kinda fits that song, “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide.”

Write to Larry Carlson at lc13@txstate.edu

The post Four decades later, Texas legend Brad Shearer still rocks by Larry Carlson August 30, 2019 appeared first on Texas Legacy Support Network.

Randy and Jenna at Hall of Honor installation

In 2021 Jenna received the second most TLSN national listeners of 22 oral history productions produced in two years. Her link is https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/jenna-mceachern

TLSN: You — and teammates from the signing class of ’74, such as Earl Campbell and Brad Shearer — had been freshmen when Coach Fred Akers was on Darrell Royal’s staff before he went to Wyoming as head coach for two years. And you had missed the miserable 5-5-1 ’76 with a knee injury, right when you had a chance to compete for the quarterback job with All-America wishbone QB Marty Akins departed.

But Akers and his staff moved you to defensive back in the spring of ’77. How hard was it to stand up for yourself and stay in the QB mix?

RANDY: Not very hard, actually. I wasn’t scared. Nervous, probably, but not scared. I hadn’t played defense since I played Pop Warner, so to me, that would have been a waste of time. When they moved me, I was sick to my stomach, horribly disappointed because I was just lost over there. It felt as if they were throwing me away.

That’s when I went to Coach Akers and said,”I think I’m as good as any quarterback as you have.” All I wanted was a shot. He said, “Well, you need to make your arm stronger,” so I spent the whole summer throwing to Ronnie Miksch and whoever would catch the ball for me. When I went back in the fall, I was listed as the fourth string quarterback. I wish I had the chance to ask Akers why he moved me back to QB.

TLSN: When Texas started the ’77 season with three blowout wins, you got some playing time behind Mark McBath and Jon Aune. Two-parter here….What was your mindset about your future as the team prepared for OU….and…as it turned out, how much did the snaps in those games prepare you for becoming QB-1 ?

RANDY: I got about two minutes playing time in each game, which you know is just clean up. We weren’t throwing it at the end of the blowouts. The week before we played OU was our bye week. I was at my parents’ house in Pasadena, and we watched OU play Ohio state. OU kicked a last-minute field goal to win the game. That night I dreamed I got into the OU game, and for the first time in six years, we won. I told my family at the breakfast table and everyone laughed about it.

My dad coached high school, so he couldn’t come to the game. It wasn’t televised nationally, so my parents couldn’t watch it. They listened to it on the radio. When I went into the game, friends started calling my parents’ house, and my dad wrote on the front of a sheet of notebook paper “Randy’s Dream…” and recorded the names of everyone who called them during the game. After we’d won, Dad wrote, “Comes True” at the bottom of the page. We still have that piece of paper today.

This is funny. Jenna had been trying to find a tape of that game for years. The game film had gone missing from the athletic department. She couldn’t find it on the internet. She even called OU to ask for their game film, but all they sent her was OU’s offensive film. She finally gave up trying to find it.

When (Randy and Jenna’s son) Hays was a freshman at Oklahoma, Randy Riggs of the Statesman interviewed him and asked if he’d ever seen the 1977 Texas vs. OU game. Hays replied, “No, my mom’s tried to find it for years and it doesn’t seem to exist.”

A week or so later—this was October–an elderly gentleman knocked on our front door, and he was holding a Beta Max tape of that game. Jenna kept it a secret from me, but she had DVDs made of the film, one for each of our kids, one for my dad, and one to give me for Christmas. When she gave Hays his copy, she’d attached a note which said, “Watch this and you’ll see I’m telling the truth…you are a better quarterback than your father was.”

I had copies made and gave them to my teammates at our 30th reunion.

TLSN: That’s awesome. I want one! Yeah, now I remember that they just did a telecast for maybe Austin and Norman. My ol’ buddy, Steve Ross, was doing the UT color for that cast. I’m glad I had a front row seat on the sidelines. When McBath went out and Aune went down, twice….the second time to put him out for the year…what were the coaches saying to you between possessions?

RANDY: After Jon went down the first time, they were talking to me about being ready to go in. Then, Jon went right back in, and they thought he’d be able to finish. After he fell for the second time, there was no time for talk. Coach Akers called me over and asked, “Are you ready?” I told him, “Coach, I’ve been ready or this my whole life.”

During the week of the game, Coach Akers and the other coaches discussed whether they should take a third quarterback or a third center. Akers won that argument, and that’s how I was on the sideline.

TLSN: The fates. That’s wild. I mean, Texas took four QB’s to Lubbock for the game last month.I know you’ve answered this a thousand times, Randy, but it’s worth going over again. You’re suddenly in charge, right in the middle of a typical Texas-OU cagefight. What was it like commanding the huddle in that atmosphere? It was a young team — mostly sophomores, particularly on defense — but you had Earl and linemen Rick Ingraham, David Studdard and George James as classmates. How much, if any, encouragement did you receive from those guys or others?

Rick Ingraham

Rick Ingraham

David Studdard

David Studdard

RANDY: I was timid in the huddle at first, talking to guys who’d been playing the whole time, even though many of them were my classmates. Someone – I don’t remember who said it – said, “You gotta speak up.” As the game went on, I grew more confident. I got lots of encouragement from the team. George James met me halfway to the huddle and said, “Randy, you can do this.”

So, I did get a lot of support from them, but all I was thinking about was calling the play, executing, etc.

TLSN: How much trashtalking were the Sooners giving you? Anything we can print here?

RANDY: A lot. (George) Cumby and (Daryl) Hunt were the two linebackers, and when they had me down on the ground, they were growling all kinds of obscenities at me. I may or may not have thrown one back at them.

TLSN: I remember a joyous madhouse once they let the media into the locker room at the Cotton Bowl. And I recall having to fight off hordes of reporters to finally get you on the live KVET locker room show, knowing I would get fired after just two months on the job if I didn’t land the biggest interview of the year. None of us had bothered to interview you in September and now every writer and broadcaster was on you, like flies on a ribroast. What do you remember thinking to yourself as the team victoriously returned to Austin?

RANDY: As soon as the game was over, (Houston radio legend) Barry Warner stuck the mic in my face. I remember thinking, “What just happened?” I was numb, but grateful that God had put me there, let me get through the game and perform. Governor (Dolph) Briscoe came into the locker room. My former girlfriend was friends with his daughter and she sent a note in to the locker room to congratulate me. The locker room was crazy, full of people. I was one of the last people out of the locker room. You live in that moment of glory, but come Sunday, we’re studying for the Arkansas game. OU was number 2 when we beat them, now we were going to face number 8 Arkansas. Suddenly, there’s more pressure on me because now I’m the starter.

One of my favorite pictures of all time was taken as we were leaving the locker room at the Cotton Bowl.

(WR) Ronnie Miksch, (LB) Mark Hamilton, and me. They were my two best friends on the team. I’m in the middle, they’ve got their arms slung over my shoulders, and we’re all grinning.

Mark Hamilton, Randy, Ronnie Miksch after Texas beat OU

TLSN: Now you had a short practice week before a Friday flight to the Ozarks for your first start: Second-ranked Texas against 8th-ranked Arkansas. I’m sure it was and is a blur. Does anything stand out in the memory files for those days leading up to the game?

RANDY: My best high school friend, who played quarterback in front of me at Dobie, played on the defensive side for Arkansas. He called me one night and told me that my old coach, who now coached at Arkansas, had said,” Don’t worry about that guy [McEachern]. He throws like a three-fingered clown.” He came into the Texas locker room after the game ( UT won, scoring the only TD of the game ) and I sure enjoyed seeing him. I shook his hand with three fingers.

Once again, Alfred saved the day. I had to throw a pass into the wind, he jumped up, just made an incredible catch and kept the drive alive. We ran a double reverse which set up a screen pass to Earl. The linebacker was right there; all he had to do was grab Earl, but it’s like he froze. Earl caught the pass and took it down to the one. We ended up winning 13-9.

The clock was winding down, and everyone in the huddle was starting to celebrate. Alfred Jackson tells the story that at one point, everyone in the huddle was talking at once and I hollered, “Shut up! No one talks in the huddle except for me.” Alfred laughed and said, “Who do you think you are?”

TLSN: The whole thing — your emergence, Earl on a rampage, the defense killing it — made the Longhorn football team the most compelling story in college football. I’ve never known you NOT to be honest, Randy….you always were great with me while I bothered you at every practice and game for two seasons…but be honest: Did you allow yourself a little “look at me now” feeling? Don’t tell me people weren’t treating you differently in classes, around campus, in restaurants and nightspots and in the locker room. People dream about a triumphant rise like yours. So — in less than two thousand words — what the heck was it like?

RANDY: Wow. You’re right. The year before, my picture wasn’t even in the media guide. Then, overnight I’m a star. I never take credit for that. I always say, “Oh, all I had to do is hand off to Earl.” I know that’s not true, but it is humbling the way things happened.

Was I treated differently after the OU game? You bet. As you were saying, suddenly, I was talking to reporters when I’d never had to do that before. People wanted me for speaking engagements, wanted my autograph. I met alums I probably never would have met. Got letters from all around the country. Girls would bring chocolate chip cookies to the dorm. And I enjoyed it all. Who wouldn’t? That’s why you come to Texas…to hope to get a chance to play with the best.

The year before I’d had that awful knee surgery. Coach Royal came to visit me in the hospital and said, “Randy, it looks pretty bad, but don’t worry, your scholarship is safe. Just concentrate on your studies.” Everyone thought I was through.

So, yeah, the success was sweet. It proved something to me, which was that I was good enough to play at Texas. And of course, I did end up marrying the cheerleader.

TLSN: Yep, the man who got it all. You were listed at 5-11 and 175, the same as James Street was listed about a decade earlier. James was nowhere near that big. What was the reality for people who called you small?

RANDY: At my heaviest, I was 180, but I’d lose five pounds during each game. So, I was 5’11, 175-80. Robert Heard (writer and author of “Oklahoma vs Texas: When Football Becomes War”) described me as a “whippet.” Still pisses me off.

TLSN: Well, this is probably worse than “whippet.” I remember that the internal public address guy in the press box for the U of H game, which was at Rice Stadium for ’77, seemed to deliberately mispronounce your name on each play as “McUrchin.” Unbelievably bush league.

You and the Horns rolled on that day, beating the defending SWC champs, 35-21….you survived another knee flare-up and sat out the TCU game but UT steamrolled on to 10-0 approaching the game against A&M. Did you ever feel that some people were short-changing you on your football IQ and skills, acting as if you were a male Cinderella who got powdered with a truckload of magic pixie dust of good fortune?

RANDY: Of course. The “Cinderella” story is cute, but it says that I was just lucky, and the fact that I had Earl, anybody could have done it. But I did hit key passes on key drives in key games that made the difference. I was blessed to have a great cast, but did I help? Absolutely.

TLSN: You threw four touchdown passes in a 57-28 butt-kicking of the Aggies in College Station, and Earl essentially wrapped up the Heisman. What stands out from that day, that game, when you look back?

RANDY: Beating the Aggies at Kyle Field is always satisfying. Beating the snot out of them is priceless. That sewed up the conference championship, of course. Earl’s catch is a great story. We practiced with him all week because the pros didn’t think he could catch. He’d catch it half the time in practice, the other half, he dropped it. We ran that play in the game, and it was set up perfectly. Earl was wide open on the sideline, and he says when he looked at me, my eyes were big as saucers. It was about a 30 yard pass, he caught it, and ran 30 more for a touch.

Alfred made two unbelievable catches. Alfred used to say that I’m the reason he made it to the pros. He claims the scouts said, “If you can catch McEachern’s passes, you can catch anything.”

And to tie the great Clyde Littlefield’s record of four touchdown passes was very cool.

TLSN: The Notre Dame game in the Cotton Bowl turned into kind of a nightmare. Nothing went well. Coach Akers just seemed stunned when we in the media talked to him afterwards. He asked us, “You ever had a bad day?” Then he answered himself and said, “We had a bad day, man.” That kind of summed it up.

Any impressions now from that outing? I remember that you were one of the only guys who would talk on the locker room show.

RANDY: After beating the Aggies then taking off a month, it’s awfully hard to maintain momentum. I do believe the underdogs have the advantage in a situation like that. The week before playing Notre Dame, Akers was out. His brother and nephew, I believe, were killed in a car wreck. (Coach) Bobby Warmack ran everything that week, and we didn’t see Akers until game time. Our middle linebacker, Lance Taylor, was out, and we really missed him. Lam Jones pulled a hamstring catching a pass. Fumbles, interceptions, we changed the game plan halfway through, and we just couldn’t recover. They were a big team. I hate to remember that game, but then, a lot of teams have lost to Joe Montana.

(Jenna interjects this: “Bear Bryant always said that, if one poll voted a team national champions, they could claim to be # 1. In 1977, 4 polls voted Texas # 1. Five polls voted Texas # 1 in 1970. Thus, Randy’s bust should have been right between Eddie’s and Vince’s (when busts of the national championship teams were unveiled the day before Texas-Bama).”

TLSN: The 1978 season, with you coming back as a veteran fifth-year guy, was mostly good. Plenty of highlights, for you — especially that memorable win over number three Arkansas in Austin — and for the Longhorns, in a nine-win season. But you took some heat, in spite of the loss of Earl to the Oilers, whenever the offense sputtered. And there were people wanting to see Donnie Little, the freshman speedster and number one recruit, get in at quarterback. You went from the “feel good story” to the “okay, move on, kid” guy in the eyes of some fair-weather fans after Texas lost to OU (and Heisman winner Billy Sims) and to Houston in a defensive slugfest. How much did that affect the fun of playing football for Texas?

RANDY: I knew I was being replaced, but I had had another knee surgery at the end of the 1977 season, and after that, I just never was as fast as I had been, never had the confidence in my knee that year. After the loss to OU, it was “let’s move on to Donnie.” I think Fred knew I had some games left in me. I started against Arkansas and had one of my best games, got ABC’s Player of the Game. Donnie started at Baylor, threw 2 interceptions. I went in and threw 2 interceptions. McBath went in and threw 2 interceptions.

The Houston game ( a 10-7 loss to the eventual SWC champ) was miserable and I hate to even think about that. The worst was the A&M game (a 22-7 win in Austin that was the regular season finale, with McBath as the starter). The year before I’d thrown four touchdown passes, and in 1978, I was allowed to play against the Aggies for two minutes at the end. It was humiliating.

But it was my 5th year and I was a team captain with Dwight Jefferson and Jim Yarbrough, so it was both fun and frustrating. All my guys (the ’74 signing class) were gone – most drafted – except for Ronnie Miksch, Mark Hamilton, and Jim Yarbrough.

TLSN: You played three years for Coach Royal and two for Coach Akers. I won’t hit you with the old high school essay of “compare and contrast,” but what are your lasting impressions of their similar and/or different ways as coaches, as mentors to young people?

RANDY: Neither coach was your buddy when you were playing. They were all business, both of them. We always lived in fear of looking at the depth chart. No one’s job was safe, it was just whoever got the job done. They were both great role models, examples for their players.

Coach Akers had a different confidence than Coach Royal did. He was more of a coat and tie guy. Coach Royal was more boots and jeans. Of course, by the time I got to Texas, Coach Royal had mellowed a little. He was an icon and had proved himself to be one of the best in the country. Coach Akers was well-respected in the profession, but he was younger than Coach Royal was, and he had a lot to prove. He was also following a football god. So, I’d say by the time I got there, Coach Royal was a little friendlier. He’d host country western concerts—most notably, Willie Nelson–at the stadium for the players and their dates. Once you finished playing for him, he’d reach out to you to get a beer or play golf.

Coach Akers was more hard – shelled. That whole deal was so tough. Most people expected Coach (Mike) Campbell to get that job, and the administration treated Coach Royal with such disrespect. So, after Coach Akers was named head coach, although everyone said the right things in public, there was a lot of bitterness to go around.

One thing Coach Akers did that still helps me today is that he researched and implemented positive visualization and self-talk, meditation, and mental preparation before games. That was revolutionary in football.

TLSN: It’s been about twenty years since you almost died from an allergic reaction to wasp stings out near the Austin High practice field, where your son, Hays, was playing for the Maroons. It was in the news that your friend Pat Kelly, a Longhorn receiver right before you played at UT, and a woman at the track who knew CPR, kept you alive until an ambulance arrived. In hindsight, what did that do for your appreciation for life?

RANDY: My question was, “Why did God throw me back? What did he want me to do with the rest of my life?” All Jenna said to me was, “We just need to listen and follow.”

One life-changing thing that happened is that I became a Bible study leader. I’d never studied the Bible and for years, Jenna had “mentioned” that I should start. I resisted for years. Then, a week after the wasp incident, I met some good friends for coffee, and they asked me to become involved in Teen Community Bible Study. I was mortified, and told them that, no, I couldn’t do that. I didn’t know the Bible well, and just didn’t think I could lead a study. As I left the coffee shop, those questions popped into my mind…”Why did God throw me back? What does he want me to do with the rest of my life?” Oh, no. Not that.

I walked back into the coffee shop and told my friends that I’d give it a try. That was 19 years ago, and I’m still spending every Tuesday, leading Bible Study.

In the aftermath of the wasp stings, as word spread, I felt like Huck Finn watching his own funeral. Scores of people wrote me, telling me what I’d meant to them, how I’d helped their sons while coaching them, I even heard from one of my professors at Texas. It was a valuable lesson; let people know what they mean to you while they’re alive. Don’t wait a minute longer.

TLSN: Amen, literally. Sound, sound advice.

I just mentioned Hays. A lot of Texas fans know that he starred at Austin HIgh as a senior and ending up taking an offer to walk on at OU, of all places, and he was part of the Sooners team from 2004-2007. Just another chapter in the McEachern epic. He’s had bragging rights most of the past decade. First, please tell me you never had to wear a “Sooner Dad” shirt…but what’s the rivalry like between you two each October?

RANDY: Actually, in Hays’s last year at OU, I did finally buy a white shirt with a small crimson OU on the sleeve, with Hays’s number, 16, on it. Damned if we didn’t run into Kirk Bohls, who reported in the Sunday paper that I was wearing an OU shirt.

Hays and Sam Bradford with Big Xii trophy

Hays and Sam Bradford with Big Xii trophy

Lester , Hays, and Bailey McEachern

Lester , Hays, and Bailey McEachern

We wore white to Hays’s games until Senior Day. Jenna finally wore red. David Boren had been Governor when we beat OU in 1977, and had shaken my hand after the game. At Senior Day, in 2007, he was President of Oklahoma University, and was going down the line shaking the parents’ hands. When he came to Jenna, he said, “It’s great to see y’all in red.”

People couldn’t believe we’d “allow” our son to go to Oklahoma. My comeback was, “When’s the last time your 18 year-old did what you wanted him to do?”

Our rivalry is very friendly, and sometimes we actually sit together at the Cotton Bowl. Hays and I have an annual bet, a bottle of good red wine. If Texas doesn’t get its act together soon, Jenna and I are going to go broke buying wine. Hays was reared a Longhorn, and when Texas isn’t playing OU, he pulls for the Horns.

TLSN: Who are some former teammates and Longhorns you’re still in touch with, Randy?

RANDY: Alfred Jackson, Rick Ingraham, Brad Shearer, Earl, occasionally. Mark Hamilton, Steve Collier, Mark Covey, Ronnie Miksch, Lawrence Sampleton, and Lam, before he passed away. We have celebrated Christmas for 35 years with the Hamiltons, Miksches, and Coveys, as we wanted our children to grow up knowing one another. I’ve recently been in contact with Steve McMichael.

Steve Collier

Steve Collier

Brad Shearer

Earl Campell

Mark Covey

Alfred Jackson

Lam Jones

Steve CollierBrad ShearerEarl Campell Mark CoveyAlfred Jackson Lam Jones

TLSN: What would you say to back-up quarterbacks, particularly in this day of rapid exits into the transfer portal

Frank Medina with Scott Appleton

RANDY: The same thing we told Hays when he was at OU, being back-up to two Heisman Trophy winners….This is a marathon, not a sprint. You must be happy where you are, and I’m not talking about playing time. If you’re moving because of lack of playing time, I don’t believe in that. You stick it out and hope to be able to contribute, but when you commit to a school, you commit to your team. When I wasn’t seeing playing time, my dad wanted me to transfer, but I knew I was playing with the best in the country, against the best in the country. I’d made lasting friendships, and you simply couldn’t beat the education I was getting.

When I get together with former teammates, no one talks about or cares how many minutes we played. We laugh about funny moments at practice, imitate (legendary trainer) Frank Medina, just enjoy sharing memories. link to Frank is https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/frank-medina-1

TLSN: You’ve been very successful in setting up an investment company and working for many years in the financial arena. Corny as it might sound, how much did a competitive nature help in your career? And do you still get double takes, recognition, and handshakes when people hear your name upon meeting you?

RANDY: That competition, leadership experience, meant everything. It prepared me for getting up every morning, doing the best I can, competing for that deal, making a good living for my family. That’s what athletics does for people, all those values you learn help you down the road, in business, in committing to your family. It prepared me for being told “no”, being slapped down; you go back at it the next day. That’s why we wanted our children to be involved in athletics…you learn it ain’t all about me.

Yes, I do still get recognized. Sometimes people ask, “Didn’t your big brother play at Texas?” I’ll say, “No, that was me.” “No, this was a big guy who played quarterback.” I have to show them my T ring to prove it really was me. But, seriously, it is gratifying when people remember or want to talk about that OU game.

Jenna McEachern

TLSN: Forty-five years after your first heroics as a Longhorn, on the surface at least, it’s been a storybook life made for novels and movies. You won the hearts of Texas fans while winning big games with your teammates, you married the Texas cheerleader, you and Jenna have three kids…you’ve been a success in business and were inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor. What’s next? What are you looking forward to as a guy who is actually now of retirement age?

RANDY: Grandchildren. Travel with my family. A long life with my wife, kids and buddies. Finally concentrating on my art, continuing dabbling in investments, exploring my artistic side. Design and build a home for Jenna and me and those future grandchildren. I think I want to learn to weld or learn how to be a silversmith. Continue studying God’s word and listening for God’s will.

TLSN: Have fun with this one. It’s a question I often close these interviews with. What’s something unusual or offbeat or unexpected that most people would not know about the private Randy McEachern?

RANDY: Well, I have had an encounter with then-Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace, a couple of years ago.

But I have artistic talent, I’ve sculpted, done a little drawing and watercolor. And…I’m an ordained minister.

Don’t ask Jenna about offbeat things for the private Randy. I may not like the answer!

TLSN: Sounds like we’re gonna need a second interview on all this. Thanks a million, Randy. And Jenna.

The post THE TLSN INTERVIEW: RANDY McEACHERN by Larry Carlson appeared first on Texas Legacy Support Network.

https://texaslsn.org/larry-carlsons-interviews/

Edith and Coach Royal, Lise and Mac Davis, Jenna and Randy

Royal’s high school coaches said he was too small to try out for the football team, but Royal continued to dream of greatness. No great activity starts without a vision, and as a young man, Royal dreamed of kicking a ball 90 yards, running faster than anyone, and getting a coaching job that he could never get. He accomplished one of these dreams but tried for all.

Royal gravitated to recruits with dreams of greatness, aggressive traits, and instincts to hit. He liked recruits with Billygoat instincts that could inspire teammates. Royal picked high school athletes who chose not to run out-of-bounds but instead stuck their cleats in the turf and pointed a face mask straight upfield. He wanted self-starters saying if you “spend time waiting for these promising boys to deliver; pretty soon you’re wearing a straw hat to Christmas.”

Randy was a dreamer Royal recruited who fulfilled his destiny under Coach Akers. Akers, like Royal, was a dreamer who played for the Arkansas Razorbacks and was a two-time Longhorn National Champion under DKR.

Where have all the Dreamers gone?

Billy Dale says, “OU is the angry window we have to look through that reflects the demise of Longhorn football; personally, over the last 12 years, I have wondered where the football dreamers have gone. Talented athletes who dream of greatness just like Randy McEachern. Maybe Coach Sark can bring them back. “

But until that occurs, Professor Carlson opens a window to the past offering Longhorn fans a fresh breeze of a fonder moment in the Red River Rivalry. “

Welcome to 1977!

Below is Professor Larry Carlson’s most recent article, “Living the Dream.”

Larry interviewing Randy after the SMU game in 1977.

Above is a photo of Professor Larry Carlson’s interview with Randy in the mid-1977 after the SMU game. Also, the link below in red font is Larry’s interview in October 2022, continuing the McEachern family’s 1977 spiritual full of grace life.

Randy McEachern’s interview with Professor Larry Carlson is at https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/2022-randy-mceacherns-interview-by-larry-carlson

LIVING THE DREAM

The Randy McEachern Saga

by Larry Carlson ( lc13@txstate.edu )

America has long been the ultimate land of dreamers. The Founding Dads dreamt of democracy. They made it happen. Then there was the expansion West. Check. On and on.

The American Dream. The dream job, the dream girl, the dream vacation, the dream life. Teenaged girls in the ’50s and ’60s labeled their ideal guys as “dreamy.” Dream, dream, dream, sang the Everly Brothers. Dream on, squawked Steven Tyler and Aerosmith. Most of us are Walter Mitty-style dreamers, way more mild and meek than focused and prepared when it comes to thinking big and stalking our greatest dreams.

Not Randy McEachern, though.

When a team is quickly down to its third-string quarterback in a big stakes rivalry game, things seldom end well. But while McEachern didn’t coin the “next man up” mantra for football warriors, he has personified it for close to half a century.

Anybody schooled in the golden age of 20th century Longhorn football knows the stirring, beautiful story of McEachern’s role in the 1977 Texas-OU street fight — and his legacy as a highly successful quarterback for the ensuing two seasons. To sweep dust from the ledger for everyone, here are some handy Cliff’s Notes:

McEachern, a fourth-year redshirt junior from Pasadena’s J Frank Dobie High, had not even suited up for the tense 6-6 State Fair standoff in ’76. Sidelined by a severe knee injury in Darrell Royal’s final battle against his alma mater, Randy’s duties that day were to serve as a spotter for the Exxon radio network. The frustrating tie put Texas at 0-5-1 in DKR’s last six bouts with the Okies and likely set the wheels for Royal’s early retirement (at the age of 52) in high gear. When Texas finished spring football practices under its new 39-year-old coach, Fred Akers, Randy was fourth-string behind the trio of Mark McBath, Jon Aune and Ted Constanzo. A switch to the defensive backfield was one coaching suggestion McEachern opted not to take.

Freshman quarterback Ted Constanzo receives a play from DKR.

When Constanzo went down with a late summer racquetball injury, Randy inched up to QB3 status, and because of UT’s blowout wins ( 44-0 over Boston College, 68-0 over Virginia and 72-15 against Rice) the former Dobie Longhorn got his first semi-meaningful collegiate experience as a Texas Longhorn.

McEachern had dreams — actual Mr. Sandman dreams — of playing against OU and becoming a hero, (read the dream at 1977 account on TEXAS-OU RED RIVALRY AND A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT (squarespace.com) ), but when a resurgent, fifth-ranked Texas team led by a streamlined, faster, stronger Earl Campbell faced off against number two Oklahoma, it did not appear there would be any playing time for backups.

1977 Mark+McBath.jpg

1977 Jon Aune.jpg

McBath, a cocksure sophomore with good running ability but prone to throw rainbow passes, was the unquestioned man under, though Aune was bigger and faster and had tossed a Texas record 88-yard TD pass to Alfred Jackson in the opener.

It was cloudy, humid and 78 degrees with wind gusts up to 20 mph at game time. The two ground-oriented teams traded punches on the floor of the old Cotton Bowl, and OU took a 3-0 lead five minutes in. Less than a minute later, McBath had a serious ankle injury, one that would shelf him for the season. Aune came on and made some encouraging runs, but any success was erased by penalties. Soon, he injured a knee, and McEachern entered the game as Texas fans gasped. Aune was back in the huddle moments later, but then the tricky knee gave way for good. It was early in the second quarter, and Texas, down to its third-team QB, did not yet have a first down.

Fast forward a few hours. Texas, with Big Earl and the seasoned O-line gradually wearing on the OU defense, with McEachern guiding the team and hitting clutch passes to Jackson, and with Russell Erxleben booming punts and two long-range field goals, set up the UT defense for a heroic goal-line stand in the waning shadows of the clock. Texas won, 13-6.

When media members were at last allowed inside the wildly exultant Longhorn locker room, McEachern was mobbed. Campbell, Erxleben and DT Brad Shearer, soon to win the Outland Trophy as America’s best lineman, were passed over for the man of the hour, the “Cinderella story,” the darkhorse nobody had interviewed before. He answered every question with veteran cool. In Austin, the revelry on The Drag began. It continued for another eight hours, at least.

Mark Hamilton, Randy, ronnie Miksch after Texas beat OU

Randy McEachern’s life had changed. That was certain. But this game hadn’t ended the season. Now the clutch kid who looked like your sister’s nice-guy boyfriend or another preppie on the way to class, was really on the spot. Texas had to cram for a big exam, the first true road game of the year.

Fayetteville, Arkansas was never going to be hospitable, and especially not now, not with the eighth-ranked Hogs hosting the hated Horns, up to number two in the polls.

Could Texas somehow keep winning? Could a keyed-on Campbell keep rolling? Could the McEachern kid persuade his fairy godmother to tap him again with the magic wand? What would unfold for this new Longhorn herd under a new coach for the first time in twenty years? It all sounded like an episode-closing questionnaire for the old “Batman” TV series. A thousand villains lay in wait.

Sam is far left

Randy McEachern was no cameo actor, no one-hit-wonder. With a little help from his friends, especially that classmate named Earl, Texas would rock on to number one status. But even McEachern would succumb to an injury in November, pressing freshman Sammy Ansley into the starter’s job for TCU and Baylor. A healing McEachern would return triumphantly in that Baylor game, going seven for eight by air.

With the conference title at stake in College Station, the Tyler Rose ran for 222 yards and stamped his name on a certain coveted football trophy. Randy McEachern, number six in your program and number one in your heart, would again display the deft passing touch he had come to be known for in just seven weeks. This time he tied an almost prehistoric UT record by connecting on four scoring passes in a 57-28 Texas barbecue.

More adventures were ahead for the quarterback talented enough to be named to the All-Southwest Conference second team in spite of starting just five SWC games. In the offseason, another knee surgery.

Then a redshirt senior season without Earl or three grizzled signing class mates on the O-line.

The storybook life would continue in many ways, though. The Horns won most of their games and Randy won the girl. From unknown and unlisted in the UT media guide to Big Man On Campus, McEachern lived the dream, on a Texas-sized scale.

It all has begged for the Hollywood scenario writers to mob him the way media folks did at his locker following perhaps the most fondly-remembered Texas-OU game in burnt orange history. Randy married the cheerleader, Jenna Hays McEachern, noted author of a trilogy of classic Longhorn football books. They have three children, one with a pigskin story almost as unusual as that of his father.

And still able to call an audible, McEachern turned a near-death encounter in middle-age into something much bigger than another escape from an onrushing blitz. In the question-and-answer session below, the. Longhorn Hall of Honor member earnestly shares his unique, timeless story of perseverance, faith, family and football.

Saturday, October 8th, 2022, the scheduled date of the next chapter of the Texas-OU rivalry, marks forty-five years to the day since a young man named McEachern forever redefined what “next man up” accountability can mean to a team, a school, a fanbase, and the ages. Maybe the current Longhorn team could benefit by hearing Randy’s testimonial.

I asked him just how many times over the years he’s been called upon by UT to share that inspirational story with young players. I was astounded to learn that — at least as of last week –he has never been invited to do that.

So I’ll leave it at this: Memo to the Horns, especially Charles Wright, QB3 of the UT football squad. Express yourself. Dream

The post Randy McEachern “Living the Dream” appeared first on Texas Legacy Support Network.

In his final UT season, Jungmann won the Dick Howser Trophy, the hardball equivalent of the Heisman, awarded to the national player of the year.

https://texaslsn.org/larry-carlsons-interviews/

A capacity crowd of 350 had just been riveted for a presentation by Eddie Penney, a former Navy SEAL and the author of “Unafraid,” and the inspiration behind “the Unafraid Mindset.” It was exhilarating and maybe a tad intimidating for at least some of us, as Penney spoke of the glee he had for “blowing up bad guys” in the Middle East and his self-description as” the biggest hypocrite in the room” before he took on what he considered a bigger challenge than special operations, that of handling fatherhood.

Folks were filing out now, energized, shaking hands with and hugging friends when my buddy Kirk Bohls and I ran into our friend Louis Hughes. With him was a Longhorn baseball great, Taylor Jungmann. At 6-6, Jungmann has always stood out in crowds. And on the baseball diamond.

The conversation quickly turned to what was going on among everybody and Jungmann had great news. He and his wife, Brittany, are expecting a second baby boy this spring, a teammate-in-waiting for Heath, a two-year-old.

Kirk, ever the journalist, immediately pressed Taylor about young Heath.

“Is he a righty like his dad?”

“I’m not sure,” Jungmann laughed, “he’s kinda using both hands right now.”

Maybe he’ll turn out ambidextrous, I offered, like the Mississippi State pitcher who is dazzling fans this spring with 95 mph fastballs fired left-handed and right-handed. Then I bothered Taylor for his contact info, arranging for the TLSN Q&A session that follows this story

Taylor Jungmann

Taylor Jungmann

Scott Bryant

Scott Bryant

Brooks Kieschnick

Brooks Kieschnick

Ivan Melendez

Ivan Melendez

And while Taylor Jungmann stuck with just his right arm at Texas not long ago, he was college baseball’s most impressive hurler over a three-year stretch from 2009-2011.

In his final UT season, Jungmann won the Dick Howser Trophy, known as the hardball equivalent of the Heisman, delivered to the national player of the year.

If you follow Texas baseball, you know that puts him in select company at UT, arguably the country’s most successful program for more than a century.

Outfielder Scott Bryant won the award in ’89,

the peerless Brooks Kieschnick took home the hardware in both ’92 and ’93,

and slugging first baseman, Ivan Melendez nailed college ball’s most prestigious honor in 2022.

Rarefied air for those aforementioned Longhorns, and Jungmann, at 33, is about to become the youngest former UT baseball star to have his jersey — number 26 — retired at Disch-Falk Field. He’ll now be forever one of the immortals of the burnt orange pantheon, joining Bryant, Kieschnick, Keith Moreland, Greg Swindell, Roger Clemens, Huston Street, and Kirk Dressendorfer.

The towering righty came out of Rogers, a hamlet of barely one thousand citizens not far from Temple and Killeen. He grew up there, standing especially tall on the pitcher’s mound, blowing class 2A batters away to lead the Rogers Eagles to the state championship as a junior. He transferred to Georgetown as a senior, again dominating the competition.

As a freshman at the Forty Acres, Jungmann went 11-3 and helped lead the Horns all the way to the national title game before Texas bowed to LSU. It was a magical season for UT, with highlights galore, including a crazy 25-inning Austin regional win over Boston College. The 3-2 verdict took more than seven hours.

Besides Jungmann, Texas’s roster featured the likes of Brandon Belt, Russell Moldenhauer, Chance Ruffin, and Cameron Rupp, to name but a few top players.

Chance Ruffin

Chance Ruffin

Russell Moldenhauer

Russell Moldenhauer

Cameron Rupp

Cameron Rupp

Brandon Belt

Brandon Belt

The Longhorns of 2010 were another outstanding team and Jungmann earned first team All-America recognition but UT got derailed by TCU in the postseason, short of Omaha. Come 2011, Texas was back in its accustomed June “working vacation” home in Nebraska. Jungmann was the best player in the USA but the Horns were unable to leave the Midwest with a seventh national title.

It was time for Jungmann to move on to the next level and he was the first round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers. Four years later, he debuted with the big club and stuck in the MLB for several seasons before adding baseball paychecks in the marvelous setting of baseball in Japan.

Now the legendary Longhorn is back in Austin, married to a Rogers girl he knew from his youth, utilizing the smarts that put him on the Honor Roll while competing in the classroom as well as on the baseball field. He owns a painting company and a cooling business while also making pitches in real estate.

And though he was never a Navy SEAL and has yet to write a best-selling book, Taylor Jungmann made it to the highest levels of his chosen field, spinning feats that wowed crowds much larger than 350 people.

Label him successful, eager and unafraid of the challenges that accompany family, faith and fatherhood.

The very young Jungmann’s jersey is already about to be retired but you might say this self-starter is just getting warmed up.

The post LONGHORN LEGEND TAYLOR JUNGMANN: appeared first on Texas Legacy Support Network.

At least for a quarter-century spanning the early 1960s through the mid-1980s, dominant defenses at the University of Texas were a constant on the college football landscape. By the ’70s and certainly into the ’80s, it was common even for good defenses to give up more yardage and points than previously due to more exotic offensive sets and an acceleration of speed as a prerequisite for skill players who handled the ball.

But speed and prowess on the other side of the ball mattered little to the Longhorn defenses of 1981-83, especially to the burly, surly one in the final season in that run that yielded a 30-5-1 record, two trips to the Cotton Bowl Classic and two top-five finishes. Those were the years when John Haines was part of the intimidating defenses crafted by head coach Fred Akers and assistants such as Leon Fuller, David McWilliams and Mike Parker.

The ’83 unit backed its fierce reputation with consistency. It had star power in the form of not one but three All-America players in defensive backs Mossy Cade and Jerry Gray, along with big, brash middle linebacker Jeff Leiding, a Missouri boy who had played his high school ball in, of all places, Tulsa, OK.

Haines, at one tackle, helped anchor a line that also featured Austinite Eric Holle and future Lombardi Trophy winner Tony Degrate. Look back at individual game stats, and you’ll find astonishing stats. In the SMU brawl, for instance, Degrate had eight solo stops and Haines had seven. And these were the guys fighting off initial blocks. Like the enduring underwear slogan from the brand named Hanes, the guy with a similarly spelled name — teamed up with ten other terrors — was wearing thin on Southwest Conference foes.

Scroll with arrow the three photos below.

Tony Degrate

Tony Degrate

Mossy Cade

Jerry Gray

Tony DegrateMossy CadeJerry Gray

Only one of UT’s first eight opponents, Oklahoma, scored two touchdowns. and that was in a 28-16 Texas victory. Only two other teams all year managed two puny touchdowns. The Horns gave up an average of fewer than ten points per game for the entire season.

Understand that 1983, the centennial year for The University, was a grand time at the Forty Acres. And, in spite of an unimaginative and low energy offense that often lived off the prowess and accuracy of freshman kicker Jeff Ward, Texas came within a “what if” of a perfect 12-0 campaign and a national championship. But the aforementioned SMU game should serve as “Exhibit A” when the jury scrutinizes why Texas was perhaps doomed to end its season in defeat. The 15-12 win over the Mustangs in Irving was highlighted by five field goals from Ward. No touchdowns provided by the offense. The Houston game, a 9-3 triumph, was similar.

The defense, then, led the way throughout the perfect regular season. Haines, like all his “stop ’em” cohorts, was riding high. humbling another offense each week, enjoying nights off in Austin, challenging for a national title and awaiting the NFL draft. Haines, scouted as one of the top tackles in the country, would go on to become one of an mind-boggling ten UT defenders — among a record 18 Horns overall — taken in the draft the following spring. But before what he thought would become his final game at Texas, Haines went through a fateful final practice that would be his last as a collegian and would impact his football future.

The long, tall Texan (6-6, 260) would advance to professional football success and make perhaps even greater, more remarkable contributions as a leader among NFL Alumni. A proud father of three bright, talented and athletic sons, Haines got to watch two of them don the famed burnt orange Texas jersey. Big John continues to lead a proud, productive business and personal life and took time from a busy schedule to visit with TLSN for a most interesting and revealing interview.

Here is John’s Interview conducted by Professor Larry Carlson

John Haines at work at Texas

John Haines at work after Texas

TLSN:

What was your recruitment like coming out of Arlington Heights High in Fort Worth, and did you strongly consider any schools besides Texas?

JOHN: Bobby Warmack was the coach that recruited me. He recruited Turner Gill and me from the same High School. We were pretty much recruited by the same schools. (Note: Gill went on to a 28-2 record as starting QB for Nebraska)

All of the schools in the Southwest Conference at the time recruited both of us. In addition, there was Oklahoma, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Florida, and UCLA. I strongly considered Nebraska. They would have been my other choice. It was just a little too far away for my Mom to come to all the games.

TLSN:

You played under two excellent defensive coordinators in Leon Fuller and David McWilliams. How would you compare or contrast their coaching styles?

JOHN: Leon Fuller was the coordinator for most of my time at Texas. David McWilliams was the defensive ends coach when I was as a freshman. Then he moved to DC when Leon left.

1980 Leon Fuller.jpg

Both were similar with a dry sense of humor, but Leon was the more intense of the two. Both were good teachers. I was moved to tackle my freshman year, and Mike Parker became my coach.

TLSN:

Your old teammate, Kiki DeAyala, had a mind-boggling 22.5 sacks in ’82 when you were a junior. These days, he might be a Heisman candidate with those numbers. What do you recall about Kiki’s techniques and prowess?

KiKi

John: These days that’s probably true. We used to kid Kiki about his height and his blockhead, but he knew how to use his quickness and leverage. He played outside of me on the right side. We all had great knowledge and preparation and just refused to lose. Kiki was tough and played hard all the time. He would study his opponents and know their weaknesses. He had a great year. The link to Kiki’s interview is at: https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/kiki-deayala

TLSN:

The 1983 defense that you helped anchor was perhaps the greatest in UT history. What do you recall about the preparation and practice that made the unit so good? I mean, every defensive starter ended up getting drafted.

JOHN: What made that defense so good as we were all predominately seniors who had played a lot of football. We were big, aggressive, fast, and competitive as hell as a unit. Our front seven, including the linebackers, put a lot of pressure on opposing offenses, and you could not run the ball on us. We were number one in total defense that year from start to finish! Just a tremendous group of very talented players.

Only Tony Degrate and Jerry Gray started as juniors.

We knew how dominant we were, and being ultra-competitive, we just imposed our will on any opponent. We refused to be beaten and knew our offense would sometimes struggle to score points. We had to keep them from scoring, period. That was our mentality. The majority of our entire defense played in the NFL. We just knew we were better than anyone we played. Ed Williams took over for Kiki my senior year (and was drafted in the second round). Eric (Holle) was a fifth-year senior as well. Certainly the best defense I have ever been around or seen at that level. We just had a bunch of dogs on that unit that were all really talented!

TLSN:

When you had time for any blowing off of steam and having a little fun, what did you and your teammates do back then? Do you recall any particular Austin hangouts?

JOHN: As a group, we did know how to have some fun! During my first couple of years, they would still have all-campus parties at the Student Union. We visited several sorority Houses and frat parties during their rush weeks. “The Keg” off campus was still open and changed over to “Tricky Mic.” We used to go to the Scholz beer garden after games for all the free keg beer in the back, and then we’d go out after that.

Coach Dabbs

We had a little too much fun sometimes, as I remember Coach Dabbs having to deal with Law Enforcement on our behalf. We would go float the river in San Marcos from time to time as well, and took trips to Lake Austin and Lake Travis. Never missed a Thursday at the “Silver Dollar.” What a place!

TLSN:

I was gonna ask about camaraderie, but I think you said it all. That was a “work hard, play hard” bunch. Your defense back then absolutely carried the team to that 11-0 start in ’83. What do you recall about the fun and pressure of being in the national championship hunt?

Is there one particular win during your senior year that stands out?

JOHN: Yes, Our defense carried that team. We were dominant, for sure. Because all of us had been together for those four years, we were close as friends, and I believe that made us very close as a group. We had a ton of leadership on that team and did not need any motivation. Turn the lights on, and we were ready to play. I don’t think we really felt much pressure as we were ranked number two most of that entire year. We just knew we were going undefeated. The only real thought during the season was that if Nebraska went undefeated as well, we would not get to play them and my old high school teammate.

For me, the game that stands out was the A&M game. I played well (Haines was Defensive MVP) and had a couple of sacks. Rick McIvor came off the bench (throwing four TD passes in a 45-13 win after UT trailed 13-0), and we scored 45 points and blew them out.

TLSN:

We recently interviewed Jeff Ward. He said that the stunning season-ending loss to Georgia in the Cotton Bowl haunts him to this day. You have your own unique disappointment of that day. What are your memories of that very strange and disappointing finish to such a great season and to your senior class’s remarkable time at Texas?

The link to Jeff’s interview is at:

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/jeff-ward-1983-1984-1985-1986

JOHN: I was in a golf cart on the sidelines with a cast on my leg. It was certainly tough to watch. I agree. That game will likely haunt all of us for the rest of our lives. We were so much better than them, and they knew it as well. For me personally, it was extremely disappointing in that I didn’t get to play in that game. I injured my knee that last practice before we left for Dallas. Coach Akers called a goal-line scrimmage at the end of practice because our intensity was lacking, and I was hurt on the third play. He called it off after that. I didn’t get to play in the two All-Star games I had been selected for, nor the bowl game. That cost me a lot of money in the draft. The draft took eight defensive linemen in the first round that year, and before my injury, I was rated fourth or fifth in that entire class. Truly heartbreaking for sure.

TLSN:

You were part of that record number of UT seniors drafted in the spring of ’84 and went to the Vikings in the seventh.

JOHN: That injury killed my draft status but aside from that, I couldn’t begin preparing until the cast was removed. When the Vikings drafted me they told me they were going to put me on the IR (injured reserve) immediately, until midseason. I didn’t go to training camp, just rehabbed my knee. I was activated about week eight or nine and played the remaining games.

The Vikings

The Vikings

John with The Colts

John with The Colts

TLSN:

Minnesota lost more games your rookie season than UT lost in your four years. What was it like, adjusting to professional football with the Viks, then the Colts?

JOHN: The NFL had been a lifelong dream of mine and it was great to see that come true. The NFL is definitely a different experience than college. You quickly realize this is a job. I spent the first half of my rookie year on IR and worked to get back healthy and back in shape. The NFL has a lot of very talented players; no scrubs up there.

That first year was really frustrating in that I was not use to losing so much. The head coach was Les Steckel, and he really overworked the team during training camp. He had a lot of veteran players, and they were not used to that, so when the season began, we had a lot of injured players. We won three games that year, and they fired him after the last game. Bud Grant was rehired the following year.

Unfortunately, you do see that some players get used to losing and don’t always play hard all the time. It’s easy to see.

I was signed by the Colts the following year. I enjoyed my time in Indianapolis, although we were always middle of the pack in the AFC East. We couldn’t seem to beat Miami (Dan Marino) or the Bills ( Jim Kelly). They were both really good. We had a pretty good team, just not enough offense for that division.

TLSN:

What’s the overall summation of your time in the NFL?

JOHN: I enjoyed my four years in the league; it was frustrating in that we were never in the hunt for a championship, and I hated all those losses. It didn’t sit well, and I wasn’t used to it. There were no practice squads, and durability was key. You stayed out of the training room and just had to treat yourself. I played my second year with a broken wrist for the remaining six games and would shoot it up before every game.

We did have the strike in ’87, which made that year interesting. Got in the playoffs but had to go to Cleveland and play in the “dog pound,” which ended our season. I made a lot of friends and would have played a few more years probably but dislocated my shoulder in my fourth year, which effectively ended my career. Sat out a year, got back in shape but flunked three physicals for teams that had offered me contracts. Once that happened, the whole league knew. It was time to move on and head back to Austin.

TLSN:

How tough was it to leave football, and what kind of work did you land in when you hung up the cleats?

JOHN: It was tough initially. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do career-wise but initially fell into Commercial Real Estate. Did that for a few years during the S&L failure, which made that business extremely tough.

I was contacted by Dell about coming to work for them in sales, and that was my entrance into the technology world. I have stayed in that industry for the remainder of my career. I wish I could have stayed in real estate, but it has all worked well. No reason to look back now.

Images of some Longhorn players at a reunion honoring Coach Akers.

At a party for Akers -Lawrence Sampleton, Mike Chapman, Eric Holle, Mike Babb, John Haines. 6’4” is the short one in this photo

A slide show is below

left to Right Ken Capps, Johnnie Walker, Coach Akers, and Ronnie Robinson

left to Right Ken Capps, Johnnie Walker, Coach Akers, and Ronnie Robinson

Akers party -Left to Right Doug Shankle, Larry Ford, Vance Bedford, Coach Akers, Robert Brewer, Lawrence Sampleton, Joe Shearin and Mark Webber

Left to Right Ralph Johnson, Ervin “Blue” Davis, Coach Akers and Eric “EJ” Jeffries.

Ham and Lam Jones

Adrian Price and Coach Akers

Coach and Mrs. Akers

left to Right Ken Capps, Johnnie Walker, Coach Akers, and Ronnie Robinson Akers party -Left to Right Doug Shankle, Larry Ford, Vance Bedford, Coach Akers, Robert Brewer, Lawrence Sampleton, Joe Shearin and Mark Webber Left to Right Ralph Johnson, Ervin “Blue” Davis, Coach Akers and Eric “EJ” Jeffries. Ham and Lam Jones Adrian Price and Coach Akers Coach and Mrs. Akers

TLSN:

You’ve been very active in the Austin chapter of the NFL Alumni Association, serving as president for many years. How rewarding has that been? Who are some other guys who are also involved?

JOHN: It has been an absolute pleasure serving as President of the NFL Alumni Chapter here in Austin and serving on the National Board for four years. Our chapter here in Austin is one of, if not the most successful chapters in the country, while not being in an NFL city. Our leadership over the years has been a big part of that success. Our mission has always been “Caring for Children,” and we have donated more than $2 million dollars to the Austin community over the years.

Raul Allegre

Raul Allegre

Jerry Sisemore

Jerry Sisemore

William Graham

William Graham

Johnny Sky Walker

Johnny Sky Walker

Doug English

Doug English

Dana LeDuc

Dana LeDuc

We began with Jerry Sisemore leading the charge, as well as others like Doug English. Raul Allegre, William Graham, and Johnny Walker are from my era of teammates. Other teammates who are still involved are Bobby Micho, Eric Holle, Ray Woodard, Kenneth Sims (strength and conditioning coach) Dana LeDuc, and others. A great group of men who don’t mind giving back with their time. The great thing is we now have some younger guys involved who are leading the organization. I’m still on the Board locally, so I participate when I can.

TLSN:

A lot of Longhorn fans know that you have three sons and that two of them — Dakota and Dylan — played for Texas this past decade. How much of a “football Dad” were you as the boys grew up?

JOHN: I was very much a Football Dad but didn’t necessarily push them into any one sport. They were all really good athletes growing up, I coached the majority of their recreational teams in football, baseball, and basketball and really enjoyed that part. They played everything, including soccer and running track. Their mother ran track at UT, which helped, too. She was competitive as well. I look back on those times; it was great to see them grow athletically and personally during those years. It was really great being their Dad! we had a lot of fun and still do.

TLSN:

How competitive were the kids with each other?

JOHN: Extremely competitive were Dakota and Dylan. Derek was a little later in time but also very competitive. They always wanted to outshine each other, which made it difficult at times as well.

TLSN:

What were the kinds of things you tried to instill in them, utilizing your experience? Were you tough or laid back as a father and mentor?

JOHN: Toughness, dedication, and hard work towards improving your skills were big things in our family. We wouldn’t let them quit a sport once they began. We spent a lot of time off the field working on improving their skills. They were all really good players in every sport growing up, just gifted athletically, and we won a lot as well, which made it fun. I would say I was pretty tough on them because I knew what they were capable of.

I guess fathers are generally tougher on their own. Most children naturally figure out what they are good at and which sport they like best. They played all the major sports through (Lago Vista) High School. We just went from one season to the next. Dakota was a great baseball player through high school. Dylan gravitated to football, and Derek went to state in golf three straight years. Tried to get him to play in college.

TLSN:

How would you describe the pride and satisfaction you felt, seeing Dakota and Dylan suit up for the Horns?

JOHN: Obviously, pride and satisfaction was an understatement, seeing them suit up for the Horns. Both of them were walk-ons, only recruited by smaller schools coming out of high school. Dakota walked on under Mack Brown and unfortunately injured his knee and never really recovered after that. They moved him to wide receiver. He should have stayed at defensive back and never really got the chance for a starting job after returning from his injury.

Charlie Strong showed up after Mack’s departure and since they didn’t know any of these players or recruited them, Dylan had an opportunity. They wanted the best eleven they could find. Vance Bedford was a teammate of mine and was Defensive Coordinator. He called me and said he couldn’t believe that they had never really looked at him.

That spring, he moved into the starting role and never looked back. Started three years and is fifth all-time in school history in interceptions! Quite a career, and a really good player. Great instincts, smart, and a great athlete. It was truly a blessing getting to watch them both play.

I wish Dylan would have been given an opportunity to play in the NFL; he would have done well. I know his ability, and he would have excelled at that level.

Just like at any level, some organizations just don’t know what they’re doing, and that’s why they never win or have success.

A salute from his 3 sons

Dakota, John, Dylan, and Derek Haines

Derek Haines

From the very first time I ever played sports my father has always been right by my side. Whether he was coaching or in the stands cheering, he has always been the most supportive person in my life. I remember growing up, he made sure to do his best to lead my brothers and I towards being the best person we could possibly be. Together, we share so many great memories but some of the best ones are still being made to this day. There is nothing I look forward to more than playing golf with him every Sunday that we can. Love you pops, next round is on me.

Dylan Haines

One of my favorite memories was probably when my Dad coached my 6th-grade pop warner football team. It was my first time ever playing tackle football, and getting to have him as a coach made it one of the best experiences of my life. He always pushed me to give anything I did 100%, and because of that, I was able to excel in football through high school and eventually get to play at UT, which I know made him very proud. I would’ve never made it to that level if not for him.

Dakota Haines

Dakota Haines- athletics have been such an important part of my family’s life and my life that there are just too many. One that sticks out to me isn’t necessarily a “happy” or “proud” moment in my life but one that definitely shaped me. My dad was coaching my little league team, and I was pitching in one of the playoff games towards the end of the season. I remember us basically playing to finish first or second in the league, and in about the third inning, my teammates in the field kept making errors after errors which allowed multiple runs to score, and gave up our lead.

Dakota continues with his story: I remember being so frustrated on the mound that I was nearly on the verge of tears. After we finally got the third out, I stormed off the field in disgust and threw my glove over the fence and into the parking lot. My dad swiftly told me to go sit on his tailgate in the parking lot, where I sat for the rest of the game as I watched our team fight back and win. I think this moment of pure shame and embarrassment made me a better teammate and taught me a lot about being mentally tough and how big of an impact it can have in sports. There’s no question that sports wouldn’t have played as big of an impact on my life if it wasn’t for my Dad. He’s been an amazing role model to follow in both athletics and business but continues to be an even better father.

TLSN:

What kind of work have you been involved with in recent years, and what keeps you busy these days?

I have also been in a wonderful relationship with Lisa Farrens for the last year and a half, and that has truly been a blessing. I am grateful for her and what we have together.

JOHN: I have been in the Technology industry over the last 25-plus years, working for different companies along the way. Raising three sons has kept me busy for a lot of those years, and I’m looking forward to spending time with my grandkids someday. They are all doing well here in the Austin area, and I often see them. I live out on Lake Travis, and they come out quite often to surf on my boat with their friends. It’s a lot of fun, and we enjoy playing golf together and taking vacations together.

TLSN:

How much interest do you have in UT football these days? Any expectations for this fall after last season’s 5-7 record?

JOHN: I would say quite a bit. I’ve been on the Longhorn Foundation for 30 years and have had the same season tickets during that time. I usually attend all the home games and will watch when they’re away if possible. Last year was probably the toughest year I can ever remember watching the Horns play. I was glad when the season was over.

The lowest I have ever seen in this program. It was tough watching them play and giving up leads in the second half. Just no killer instinct and desire not to lose. Sark has had some tremendous success in recruiting, and I just hope it translates on the field. It seems like a lot of these kids never improve during their time here, which isn’t good. They need more linemen on both sides of the ball for this team to improve. Somewhere along the way, this program stopped recruiting really good linemen. The game is still won up front, and they have to improve there for this team to have success.

TLSN:

What are your opinions about the NIL situation in college ball? Texas RB Bijan Robinson is driving a Lamborghini and potential starting QB Quinn Ewers has an Aston Martin, the James Bond car.

In your days at Texas, the flashy cars would’ve gone to the defensive hosses. What were you driving back then, John? What would have been your “NIL dream car?”

JOHN: Personally, I don’t believe it’s a good situation for college athletics. I understand the concept of all the money in college athletics, but 18-to-20-year-old kids won’t do well with that kind of pressure. Like the NFL, there will be some who receive more, some less, and I wonder what kind of team chemistry and culture that will create. In our days, we would have gotten a ton of money to play. We didn’t care about that and were probably better off that we didn’t. I drove a Buick in college, the only thing I could afford. The hot cars during my time would probably have been a Trans Am or Corvette, although I probably could not have fit into a Vette! Likely would have been better off with a new truck instead. My first new car was a Blazer with a custom paint job I bought my rookie year in the NFL.

TLSN:

What’s on the horizon for you, whether it’s an upcoming vacation, a new business venture, involvement in whatever, retirement, etc?

JOHN: I’m still in the technology industry, working in sales leadership roles. I would like to work for six to eight more years, then retire, and ride off into the sunset. I’m still very active physically. I enjoy golf, surfing on the boat, snow skiing, and traveling. I’m still looking at new business ventures and investing in real estate and want to remain active in retirement. Perhaps some type of local mentoring and coaching role might also be in order.

TLSN:

We usually end these interviews with this: What is it about you that most people wouldn’t know about John Haines?

JOHN: Well, that’s an interesting question…..I’m trying to learn to play the piano. My Mother played quite well, and I miss her playing on the holidays. I wish I would have let her teach me when I was young.

One other weird fascination is I like to try and learn different styles of dances. Go figure. Working on learning the country swing dance.

Professor Carlson interviewing Coach Akers

Other links to articles, podcasts, or interviews with Longhorn players during the Aker’s years

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/alan-champagne-1984-1988

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/larry-carlson-brad-shearer

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/robert-brewer

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/herkie-walls

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/kenneth-sims

https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/rick-mcivor

END OF INTERVIEW

The post TEXAS DEFENSE 1983; JUST WAIT’LL WE GET OUR HAINES ON YOU by Larry Carlson (lc13@txstate.edu) appeared first on Texas Legacy Support Network.

The Professor and Pat Culpepper in New Orleans

Q. You played linebacker and fullback at Texas in the last part of the era in which players were trained to “go both ways.”  Looking back, what do you see as the key to how you and your teammates (and opponents) were so well-conditioned and prepared to play on both sides of the ball?  Unlike today’s players, y’all weren’t working out 365 days a year and getting weight training.

A. I think the trainer, Frank Medina, making us run up stadium stairs at Memorial Stadium; we had to run stairs and run the entire stadium. We were one of the first teams to work with weights, which Coach Royal implemented. My high school coach, Brooks Conover, bought weights for the high school, which was unique at the time; not many were working out with weights, which kept us from getting hurt. I also was in the Marine Corps reserves in the summers, and going through basic training in Virginia gave me a competitive edge.

Q. Name a couple of the toughest guys you played alongside in your three varsity seasons at Texas?

A. Johnny Treadwell tremendous hitter on defense and a great offensive guard. He had tremendous acceleration when he tackled, he went through the tackles and knocked them back. Scott Appleton, defensive tackle, 6’ 3”, had a great low stance, which allowed for him to get under the offensive line, and his arms were long, allowing him to separate from the blocker.

Q. And you had a reputation as a fiery player, was any other Longhorn meaner than you?

A. (he laughed) “Johnny Treadwell, he was always talking to me during the game, we fed off each other. He was enthusiastic and a great football player. In the heat of the battle, we were like 2 warriors.”

Q. Where did that fiery temper come from? What was the thing that motivated you the most to get everything out of you as a player?

A. From my mother, Willie Dell Culpepper, she was 5’ 3”, she was a drill sergeant. She was a educator for her entire life and she made me toe the line. She loved football. For my father, John Culpepper, he was even keel, smart, and was the calming influence on our family.

Q. What was the thing that motivated you the most to get everything out of you as a player?

A. It started back in high school. Coach Conover, pushed us to be the best, athletically and academically. He demanded and coached everything we did at 100 %, and he used film to evaluate our practices and coached us on what the film showed. He built trust and respect that his players wanted to be our best for ourselves but for the university of Texas. That carried over to college with Coach Royal, Coach Pitman, and Coach Cunningham. I had a love and passion for the game that my thinking, “I will not lose.”

Q. Your book, “Goal Line” focuses on your senior season of ’62, climaxing with the midseason matchup against Arkansas in Austin.  That famous, game-saving tackle you made with Johnny Treadwell has stood up for 60 years as one of the biggest stops in Longhorn history.  What sticks with you about that game, its high stakes, and atmosphere, after all these years?

A. It was the two teams that were best in SWC; they had a great coach, Frank Broyles, and great players, Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson, to name 2. They made us ready for every aspect of the game, Kicking Game, Offense and Defense.

We had to come from behind to win; it was a great defensive game. Everyone on our football team, at halftime, understood the game was going to come down to the 4th quarter, and it was going to be 60 minutes of hell. As a defense, we knew we had to create a turnover.

It was the largest crowd at the time at Memorial Stadium; people cut open the fences to sneak in, and every square inch of the field had people everywhere. The crowd lined the streets and the parking lot when our bus pulled up.

On the goal line play, when we broke the huddle, John Treadwell looked at each one of us and pointed his finger, and said, “We’ve got ‘em where we want ‘em.”

The play before the famous play was a completed pass to get Arkansas to the 4 and then on first down, they got 3 yards, and on Second down and 1, from the 1-yd line, our defensive line did such a great job of getting under the blockers, it gave Treadwell and me a clear shot at Danny Braham. I was put in the right position and right place by my coaches and teammates.

Question “Do you remember the crowds reaction?

The fumble rolled over my shoulder, Ken recovered, and I could not hear anything, the crowd went nuts.”

We got the ball back and every time we made a first down, on offense, the cannon was shot, the drive took forever and the stadium was going crazy, you could not hear. We had to score to win.”

Q. Today’s high school and college games frequently produce more scoring than basketball…the winner is just the last team with the ball.  If you were coaching again in today’s high tempo and “Air Raid” schemes, what would you emphasize to improve defensive play?

A. “You start with the secondary, you have to play four deep, when I was coaching, it was more 3 deep. You need the secondary to be able to run with the receivers. 1 to 2 linebackers, and they must be able to run and cover as well. Each week, even though they are all throwing the ball around, each week you really must change what you are doing. You must be able to confuse the quarterback and receivers, even in high school, showing one look and coming back with a different look when the ball is snapped. Offensively, if you can run and run it well, it helps keep the other team’s offense out of rhythm.

Q. Your UT teams were six and O against OU and A&M and 2 – 1 against Arkansas, which in your era, was a huge rivalry.  Were all rivalries the same for you?…or which team did you get most psyched up for? (And why?)

A: The Oklahoma games stood out more than A&M. Arkansas demanded for us to be the best. Texas A&M was a big game, but they weren’t very good. (LOL)

Q. Through the eyes of a player, describe Oklahoma vs. Texas

A. The bus ride up to Dallas was unique; by the time we reached Dallas, Oklahoma fans would yell from their cars at our bus, and they would honk their horns.

The noise on the streets had a different sound to it, fans were ready for this game, days before.

When we got on the field during the pregame warmup, ¾ of the stadium was filled.

Q. Describing the ramp, walking down to the field before the game.

A. Unless Oklahoma was in the tunnel, it was serene and dark, and as we inched our way to the field, it was like walking into the Roman Coliseum.

Q. You used to hold the record for the longest interception returned for a touchdown in the OU vs Texas game. (78 yards)

A. It was a halfback pass, the play was a way from me, and the halfback tried to throwback against his body to the opposite side of the field. I ran back toward the player and that threw him. I ran it 78 yards for a touchdown and when I got to the sideline, Coach Royal, jokingly said, “Pat were you trying to run out the clock?” and my dad said, “I was just trying to mimic how you played at Oklahoma.”

Q. What do consider to be THE most valuable thing you learned from playing for and coaching with Darrell Royal?

A. . …long pause… From playing, “Watching Coach Royal and the other coaches, how you prepare, organize, how you carry yourself on and off the field, how you compete, and he made academics important. Coach Royal created the T-Ring; as an athlete, when you lettered and graduated from the University of Texas, you received a T-Ring.

I learned how important championship teams put attention to detail in the kicking game. Every player was involved in the kicking game practice. It wasn’t something that we just went through the motions; we started our practice with the kicking team. It helped me when I began my coaching career to put an emphasis on the kicking game. On teams that I coached in college and in high school, we beat teams because of our commitment to the kicking game.

“Press the kicking game for here the breaks are made”. DKR

The post Culpepper interviewed by Larry Carlson appeared first on Texas Legacy Support Network.