A BAKER’S DOZEN OF THE TOP TEXAS QUARTERBACKS: 

by Larry Carlson  ( lc13@txstate.edu )

The rites of spring.  Ahh, yeah.

No, not baseball.

Talking about quarterbacks.  Where they stand right now on the depth chart.

Where they stand in the record books.  How they look, overall, in the musty, dusty, memory files.

Right now, Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning get all the attention from Longhorn faithful.

As they should.

And if Maalik Murphy ever gets fully healthy, he’ll be in the conversation and competition.  

September’s opening kickoff is still a long way off.

Springtime offers a good excuse for making a list.  Discuss it, cuss it, make your own.

Here’s my list of the best quarterbacks of the DKR era (1957– forward), with a few notes.

Read on, hate on, just get ready for football ’23.

And take this quiz, with the answer at the bottom of this story.

Who are the Longhorn quarterbacks who never lost a game they started?

13  CHRIS SIMMS, Ramapo Raiders, Franklin Lakes, NJ  Starter in 2000-02

Simms was Mack Brown’s first ultra-blue blue chipper and arrived at his dorm in a Limo.

As a starter for much of three seasons, he posted an outstanding W-L line and threw for almost sixty touchdowns to a bevy of fine receivers.  This writer placed Simms low on the UT totem pole of standout quarterbacks for his lack of success in the Horns’ biggest games.  He threw four picks against OU in ’01 and three more against the Sooners as a senior.  Zero TD passes, total.  in the Big XII title game loss to Colorado in ’01, Simms had four turnovers before Major Applewhite came on in relief, almost pulling off a win.

But Simms had plenty of success as a Longhorn, and many would rank him much higher.

12  MIKE COTTEN, Austin Maroons, Starter in ’60-’61

Cotten, a native of Uvalde, moved with his family to Amarillo before they settled in Austin,  He was a multi-sport star for Austin High, the last QB to lead the Maroons to a playoff win in the 20th century.  Cotten took only one visit in recruiting, a short one to the Forty Acres.  He led the freshman Yearlings to their first unbeaten season in more than a decade and worked as a backup to Bobby Lackey as a soph in ’59, Darrell Royal’s first Cotton Bowl team.  The Horns went 7-3-1 in ’60 with Cotten at the helm.  He and All-America RB Jimmy Saxton revved DKR’s “Flip-Flop” offense in high gear a year later and UT was 10-1.

They beat Ole Miss for Royal’s first bowl triumph, with Cotten the Offensive MVP in the Cotton Bowl.

He was All-Southwest Conference with what was at the time a very impressive 57 percent pass completion mark and led the SWC in TD passes with seven.

11  ROBERT BREWER, Richardson Eagles, Starter in ’81-’82

Brewer remains the highest profile walk-on in modern UT football history.  He was a legacy, son of Charles Brewer, Longhorn QB in the mid-50s just a few years before the arrival of DKR.  

Robert came on in midseason of ’81 after an injury to big (6-4), big-armed Rick McIvor.  The Horns managed a tie against Houston, then breezed to three regular season wins to earn a trip to the Cotton Bowl (SMU “won” the conference standings at 7-1 in spite of a loss to Texas but the 5-1-1 Horns were awarded the conference’s top bowl berth).

In the Cotton Bowl, Brewer famously raced to a 30-yard TD on a perfect draw play and the Steers erased a fourth quarter deficit to defeat Bear Bryant’s favored Alabama team, 14-12.

Brewer was rock solid as the ’82 starter.  Texas absorbed tough, close, back-to-back losses against OU and SMU but “Brew” led the burnt orange to six straight wins and a number eight ranking as they prepared for the Sun Bowl against Lawrence Taylor’s North Carolina.  But Brewer broke a thumb in practice, missed his last UT game and Texas fell to the Tar Heels.

Robert’s quarterbackin’ bloodline lived on through two sons, Charlie, a standout at Baylor, and Michael, a starter at Texas Tech and Virginia Tech.

10  PETER GARDERE, Houston Lee Generals, Starter in ’89-’92

Gardere needs no introduction to Longhorn fans.  Or to OU backers.

It’s safe to say he’ll be the only starting QB on either side of the Red River Rivalry to graduate 4-0.  

Even the Covid years of seemingly endless eligibility couldn’t change that.

Peter The Great played for only one good team, the 1990 “Shock The Nation” crew but he engineered electrifying wins over Penn State, OU, Houston and A&M that season.  A versatile athlete, Gardere also played baseball for the Horns and earned Canadian Football League paychecks for several seasons as a punter.  

9   SAM EHLINGER, Austin Westlake Chaparrals, Starter in 2017-2020

Homegrown.  All-American boy.  Born to be a Horn.

Ehlinger could run, he could pass, and he was rugged. As a freshman for Tom Herman’s first squad, he shared time with Shane Buechele and led Texas to its only real glory since 2009, when he propelled the Longhorns to a ten-win season and a Sugar Bowl upset over Georgia as a sophomore.

Savvy and mature, Ehlinger somehow navigated the ugly, murky controversies surrounding “The Eyes of Texas” and stood tall, even alone and in defeat, after his last game in Dallas’s Cotton Bowl. He had led a magnificent comeback that forced four overtimes with OU.

Sam is the lone Longhorn QB to have been the winning starter in four bowl games.

8)   DUKE CARLISLE, Athens Hornets, Starter in ’63

It might seem slight to rank UT’s first national championship quarterback this “low.”  No slight intended.

Carlisle, an excellent athlete who starred more on the defensive platoon while at UT, just did what he was supposed to in the Texas offense.  Lead.  Perform at a high level.  Win.

He did that superbly and finished his football career with his biggest day, outshining Heisman winner Roger Staubach in the 28-6 Cotton Bowl win over Navy that sealed the Horns’ first national title.

7   EDDIE PHILLIPS, Mesquite Skeeters, Starter in ’70-’71

Like Carlisle, Phillips was at the helm for a national title.  He took the reins from James Street and was in the driver’s seat for consecutive wins 21 through 30 in the thirty-game win streak that spanned two natties and a number three finish.  Phillips was another of Royal’s fine-tuned, well-rounded athletes to play quarterback.

Many teammates and observers considered him to be a better runner and passer than Street.

He set a Cotton Bowl record for total yardage, even in a shattering loss to Notre Dame.

But Phillips was greatly hindered by injuries as a senior in ’71, limiting his stature—through no fault of his own, obviously—in the all-time QB rankings. At his best, Phillips was one of college football’s most dangerous operators of the Wishbone offense.

6   JAMES BROWN, Beaumont West Brook Bruins, Starter in 1994-97

Sportscasters loved to yell, “I feel good,” while replaying Brown’s many highlights from the Forty Acres.

He couldn’t sing or scream like the Godfather of Soul but his footwork was comparable.

Brown also had a good arm and was truly one of UT’s first “dual threat” quarterbacks.

He got the start, and the win, in the ’94 Texas-OU game, subbing for injured Shea Morenz.  He then held on to the job for three-and-a-half seasons.  High water marks included leading Texas to the final Southwest Conference title in ’95 and the inaugural Big XII crown the following season.  He delivered the first in a gutty, gritty performance on a bad ankle in College Station, the latter in St. Louis on “Roll Left” against heavily favored Nebraska.

5   MARTY AKINS, Gregory-Portland Wildcats, Starter in 1973-75

Akins came to Texas as a versatile phenom who was a track sprinter, a shot-putter, and a blue-chip QB in high school, where he played for his father, Ray, in the Corpus Christi area.  As a three-year starter at quarterback for Texas, he was a rarity in the DKR era.  Best known for his wizardry with the triple option, Akins became college football’s first wishbone QB to earn All-America status.  For his last two seasons, Akins had young Earl Campbell to draw defenders to the middle of the gridiron, and Marty showed great expertise in speedily turning upfield or flipping a last-second pitch to a trailing halfback.  Akins was never short on confidence.  Ask any of his former teammates.  And while still in school at UT, he boasted of his goal to one day become Governor.  He did, in fact, run — but unsuccessfully — for public office after having retired as a lawyer.

4  MAJOR APPLEWHITE, Catholic High Bears, Baton Rouge, LA,  Starter in 1998-parts of 2000

Applewhite was clutch.  That’s why he’s rated so highly here, that’s why he remains a beloved figure in Longhorn football history.  He essentially re-wrote the UT passing record book as a precocious redshirt freshman in Mack Brown’s first season at UT.  With a big assist from Ricky Williams, Major led Texas to high-profile upset wins over Nebraska and A&M.  A year later, he was the Big XII Offensive Player of the Year.

He absorbed a serious knee injury against Arkansas in what turned into a loss in the Cotton Bowl.

It paved the way for Brown to favor Chris Simms for most of the starts when Applewhite still shined as a junior.  As a senior, his lone start — a reward for almost bailing out Simms and Texas in the conference championship game — came in the Holiday Bowl against Washington..  Applewhite threw for a UT record 473 yards and ignited a comeback win after his team trailed by 19 points.

3   VINCE YOUNG, Houston Madison Marlins, Starter in 2003-05

Author of arguably the best individual performance in a single game by a college quarterback, 

VY was a magnificent presence for UT’s revered 2005 national champs.  Before that perfect season, he led Texas to its first Rose Bowl title and drove defenses nuts with his game-breaking potential on every down.  A sidearm-passing delivery didn’t please the purists but was highly effective.  Obviously, he is the greatest running QB to have ever donned the burnt orange.  And it’s hard not to rank him as the best signal caller in Texas history.  His 30-2 mark as a starter is impressive enough, but his fantastic play cannot be duplicated.

#2   COLT McCOY, Tuscola Jim Ned High Indians,  Starter in 2006-2009

Put simply, McCoy was a much more reliable passer than other standout QBs at Texas.

He had good wheels, too, and was capable of breaking for big gains, getting tough short yardage and extending plays to find open receivers.  He was college football’s best dual-threat guy and most accurate passer during much of his career.  Colt arguably should have won the Heisman as a junior, but for a weird miracle finish by Tech in ’08 and the infamous injury against Bama in his final Texas game, he might well have produced not one but two national championships.  He finished his career as college football’s winningest starting quarterback.

#1   JAMES STREET, Longview Lobos, Starter in 1968-69

Slick Street had it all. Handsome, talented, outgoing, exuded confidence in all that he did.  And with good reason.  
He was an All-America pitcher for the Longhorn baseball team and perfect in twenty starts as QB1 for the Horns.  His masterful handling of the nascent wishbone offense propelled Texas to nine straight wins to close out the ’68 season as the country’s third-ranked team, despite having begun 0-1-1 before Royal promoted Street to starting status.

The 1969 season was merely perfect.  Texas steamrolled its first nine opponents and then Street’s two most famous plays came in the fourth quarter of the Big Shootout in Fayetteville after Texas trailed 14-0 at the end of three.  He opened the final period with a 42-yard scramble for a TD, turning a busted play into paydirt by outrunning Razorbacks who were faster than he was.  Then late in the game, on an all-or-nothing, fourth-and-three, Street launched a 44-yard laser that found Randy Peschel at the Arkansas 13.  It is still the most revered, replayed aerial in Longhorn history, and set up the seven points Texas needed to win the 

national title.

On January 1, James conjured up more magic and hit Cotton Speyrer on a fourth down to set up UT’s 21-17 comeback win against Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl.

Over the years, a few opposing players, most notably the Irish’s Joe Theismann, have called Street “lucky.”

We should all be so lucky as to position ourselves for icy cool greatness under fire on the biggest stage.

All the quarterbacks on this list were leaders.  But talk to Street’s teammates and there is still a great sense of awe about his unmatched confidence in himself and his team, his resolute refusal to ever lose.

Street gets my vote as the best QB ever at Texas.  He was a pure dee winner and the record backs him up.

BOTTOM LINE ON THE RANKINGS: 

If we were to extend this history opinion piece beyond the DKR years,

I would rank Bobby Layne as UT’s all-time greatest quarterback. 

In many ways, he was an early, bigger and more talented James Street.  His achievements in football and baseball at Texas were sensational and he later led the Detroit Lions to back-to-back NFL championships.  

QUIZ ANSWER:  Four Longhorn QBs posted unbeaten career marks as starters.

James Street was 20-0, Duke Carlisle was 12-0, Rob Moerschell went 9-0 in ’83 and Sam Ansley was 2-0 in ’77 when Randy McEachern was sidelined.