The best of Tight Ends from out of state who played for Texas
By larry Carlson

Email Lc13@txstate/edU

I’ve just got a hunch. My nearly infallible logic? Helm is from outside the state of Texas. I’m thinking the latest Longhorn with a cool name might not even see much playing time behind veterans Cade Brewer and Jared Wiley next fall, but whenever he does start to get regular snaps, I’m projecting All-Big XII. If not Helm in line for accolades, maybe it’ll be Brayden Liebrock, the 6-4 youngster who led the Chandler (AZ) Wolves a few years ago. Texas has been beefing him up for two years and he’s missing spring drills while recuperating from a shoulder injury. But Liebrock’s got a shot at making a name at Texas, just by having joined the Horns from a thousand miles away.

But first some state of Texas tight ends who set the bar high for out-of-staters.

Out of State Longhorn tight ends

While shuffling the memory files about this piece on out-of-state Longhorn players through the years, it became clear that, according to position, Texas is (out-of-state) Tight End U. It started with Hall in the late ’70s and extended to New Orleans’ Stephen Clark (from suburban River Ridge) a decade later and has continued with six more out-of-state TE starters, and counting, in the past three decades, including another New Orleanian, Derek Lewis.

Steve Hall 1977

But for more than four decades, most notable TE talent at UT has been imported. That cannot be said of any other position group on The Forty Acres. Steve Hall immortalized himself to the Texas Longhorn faithful in his fourth game as a freshman backup tight end in 1977. In the open field, Hall delivered a smash-mouth block on OU defensive back Terry Peters, enabling Earl Campbell to circle left into the end zone for a touchdown. It was the only one of the game. Texas won, 13-6, breaking an O-5-1 drought at the State Fair. And Hall, who enjoyed a solid career, and would even snare a TD pass in another Texas win over OU two years later, would become part of Longhorn lore. The drawling, 6-3, 215-pounder hailed from the Tulsa suburb of Broken Arrow, OK, and became only UT’s second letterman from Oklahoma since World War II.

Derek Lewis 1996

Similar to Hall, Lewis is often recalled for one play, in spite of All-Conference status as a senior in ’98. But the best-known Lewis highlight is one of the more famous ones in UT football. It came late in the initial Big XII Championship game in December ’96 when Coach John Mackovic coolly gambled on fourth-and-short from the Steers’ own 28 yard line with a precarious 30-27 lead. It was “Roll Left.” A Nebraska linebacker came free to pressure Quarterback James Brown who was expecting to run. Brown lobbed a short pass to Lewis, a steady backup to All-America TE Pat Fitzgerald, and he rambled 61 yards before getting dragged down at the Husker eleven. Priest Holmes then scored a touchdown to ice a 37-27 shocker that de-railed hopes for another Nebraska national championship and sent an 8-4 Texas team to the Fiesta Bowl.

Pat Fitzgerald -1995

Pat Fitzgerald received zero D-1 scholarship calls out of high school in California, so he attended a junior college for one year. Then Mackovic offered him a ride, and Fitzgerald played for three years at UT, becoming an All-America pick on the field and a scholar-athlete. He caught 80 passes, scored a dozen touchdowns, and helped Texas to the final SWC title and that inaugural Big XII crown sealed in part by Lewis’ heroics. Fitzgerald is one of UT’s best ever.

Bo Scaife 1999-2004

Two of the Longhorns’ notable out-of-state tight ends, Bo Scaife (Colorado) and Blaine Irby (California) are legendary not just for pass-catching and blocking ability but for their toughness and refusal to surrender to serious injuries. Several years before UT’s all-time leading receiver, Jordan Shipley, was forced by operations to take six years to play four, Scaife did it from ’99-’04, sitting out the ’00 and ’02 seasons with ACL injuries. He kept on coming back, dealing more misery than he took and earning all-conference honors and putting a cap on his Texas career with a victory over Michigan in UT’s first Rose Bowl appearance. Then Scaife developed into arguably the longest, most productive NFL career of any Longhorn TE, spending most of it with the Tennessee Titans.

Blaine Irby 2008

Irby was a soph in ’08 when he was victimized by a knee injury against Rice that came to be justifiably described as “horrific.” So extensive was the damage that doctors gave Irby only a five percent chance of ever walking normally again.

But three Septembers later, in 2011, following three operations, disheartening numbness, and thousands of hours of re-hab, Irby was back on the field, enjoying a season highlighted by catching TD passes in three straight games. The California guy finished the magical personal comeback with a Longhorn win over Cal in San Diego’s Holiday Bowl. Then he walked away from the game on his own terms, permanently an inspiring part of Texas football history and the commitment to seeing it through.

Geoff Swaim

Some UT camp followers felt they’d never see a big-time tight end in Austin again, following the departure of Thomas and Finley, then the injury to Irby. But along came JC transfer Geoff Swaim from California, followed by Andrew Beck from Florida. Swaim was mostly a blocker and special teams hoss at Texas. His two-year career haul was 13 catches for 84 yards and a TD. Sounds like a one-game stat line for David Thomas. But Swaim, like Thomas before him, has a knack for cashing NFL paychecks. He’s been with the Cowboys, Jags, and Titans the past seven years.

Andrew Beck 2018

Beck, recruited as a linebacker, was a steady TE and H-back at Texas but had to sit out his senior year with injuries. He elected to stay a fifth year and play ball, becoming a team leader and captain of the Texas team that won the Sugar Bowl over Georgia. While Swaim had at least been a seventh-round draft pick, Beck went undrafted in 2019. He signed with New England, but the Patriots let him go at the end of summer camp. Only a day went by before Denver grabbed him, and Beck’s versatility and adaptability again served him well. Three weeks later, he got his first start as a Bronco. At fullback. Last season, Beck was on the reserve/Covid 19 list early and later fought hamstring issues before being activated in December. He is expected to again figure in the Broncos’ plans this year.
Who will be the next Texas tight end to have a “career” big play, ignite a team with a personal comeback or chalk up All-Conference or All-America honors? Maybe it’ll be Brewer or Wiley in ’21. That would be great for the Horns. Me, I’m taking Gunner Helm. Or Brayden Liebrock. Call it a hunch. Or maybe it’s the new analytics.

Click on “Outsiders” for more information on signature Longhorns from out of state (Texas) at :

https://www.texaslsn.org/theoutsiders-by-larry-carlson

Steve Hall ’80 Broken Arrow, OK (Tigers)Stephen Clark ’90 River Ridge, LA (John Curtis Patriots)Pat Fitzgerald ’96 Agoura Hills, CA (Chargers)Derek Lewis ’98 New Orleans, LA (St. Aug Purple Knights)Bo Scaife ’04 Denver, CO (Mullen Mustangs)Blaine Irby ’11 Camarillo, CA (St. Bonaventure Seraphs)Geoff Swaim ’14 Chico, CA (Valley Christian Vikings)Andrew Beck ’18 Tampa, FL (Plant Panthers)