These schools have sent many great student-athletes to the 40 Acres.  Jonathan Wells August 27th 2026

Four years ago this month I wrote a pair of posts for Burnt Orange Nation ranking the high schools that had produced the most lettermen for the University of Texas football program.

The rankings have changed slightly since then, partly due to one particular school having six new lettermen since the start of the 2022 season, and partly due to new information coming to light about some players whose high school alma mater was either unknown or erroneously listed in my records at the time of the original post.

I won’t spend 7,000+ words on the history of those historic Longhorn football pipeline schools and the notable players to come from them (for that you can simply read parts one and two of my 2022 posts), but I thought it would be worth revisiting the topic and “showing my work”, as it were.

As mentioned in previous posts, over the past six years I have doggedly researched historic UT catalogues, newspaper archives, high school yearbooks, and obituaries of past Longhorns (among other sources) in an attempt to find where each recognized UT football letterman attended high school or preparatory school before their college years. This did not take a lot of extra work beyond cross-referencing the all-time lettermen list with UT football’s yearly rosters for most players from the past 80 years, since the online rosters going as far back as the 1947 season list the hometown of each player. But for the vast majority of the players who suited up for the program during its first 54 seasons (1893-1946) there was no small amount of digging required to determine where they had gone to high school. The Longhorn football program now has somewhere north of 2,400 all-time lettermen, and the number of them whose high school or prep school remains unknown to me is less than 40.¹

In my 2022 posts I named the first and latest letterman from each school that made the list, along with the Longhorn team captains and UT Athletics Hall of Honor inductees they produced.

In this post I will cover the top 15 all-time Longhorn pipeline schools and name every UT football letterman I’m aware of who attended each listed school, with some footnotes on certain players for whom program records contain some discrepancies.

It should be noted that for my record-keeping purposes I don’t limit myself to crediting a player to just one high school. When Cam Coleman is picked in the 2027 NFL Draft, Roger Goodell will announce that pick as, “Cam Coleman, wide receiver, Texas”, even though Coleman will have played far more games with Auburn than Texas. Similarly, if erstwhile Longhorn running back Quintrevion Wisner is drafted in 2027, he will be identified as “running back, Florida State”, despite having played 38 games as a Longhorn and perhaps only one-third as many with the Seminoles after transferring to FSU in 2026.

I do not count only a player’s most recent high school when tabulating how many Longhorn lettermen each school has, and Wisner is a great recent example of why. He attended Waco Connally through his junior year of high school, then spent his senior year at Dallas area powerhouse DeSoto before signing with Texas. I see no reason why DeSoto should get sole credit for him since he spent the majority of his high school career at Connally, was a Connally Cadet when Texas offered him a scholarship during his sophomore year, and his transfer to DeSoto wasn’t announced until the week he committed to Texas in the spring of his junior year.

High school student-athletes change schools a lot more often now than a generation ago, and for college football rosters it makes sense to save space and only list the high school a player graduated from, but I like to have more complete records on high schools attended and don’t want to have to adjudicate what high school has a stronger claim on a former recruit who attended multiple schools. So there will be a few players listed below who also attended schools besides the one they’re grouped with in this post.

The abbreviations in front of the players’ names are for the positions they primarily played while at Texas and are not meant to suggest they only played at those spots. Due to the substitution rules in effect until the late 1940s everybody who saw the field during the first 50+ years UT’s football history played on both offense and defense, and published starting lineups would typically identify a player only by their offensive position until the two-platoon system became the norm.

The years after each player’s name are the seasons in which they are recognized as a varsity letterman with the Longhorn football program, and they are listed chronologically in order of the year they won their first letter. Digging into my notes I will also include a few notable non-lettermen from some of the schools listed.

The Texas Longhorns’ top 15 all-time pipeline schools

1. Stephen F. Austin High School (Austin)

UT football lettermen who attended this school: 76

UT football team captains: 11
Wallace Ralston (1895)², Marshall Ramsdell (1911), Dave Pena (1918), Maxey Hart (1920), Rufus King (1928), Wilson Cook (1932), Joe Smartt (1935), Ralph Park (1943), Harold Fischer (1944), Raymond Jones (1947), and Mike Cotten (1961)

Note: Austin High’s actual number of UT lettermen may be at one more. Richard Unett Lee, one of the halfbacks on the original UT varsity football team in 1893, was an Austin native and most likely attended Austin High School, but I have not been able to establish that connection with 100% confidence.

UT football lettermen from Austin High

QB William McLean (1893-94)
E/T William Wallace Ralston (1894-96)
HB Roy Smith (1894)
HB James Caperton (1895-96)
QB Walter Wooldridge Fisher (1895)
HB Algernon Stephen “A.S.” Thweatt (1899)
E Harry Leonard (1908-09, 11)
HB Offie Leonard (1909-11)
T Marshall Ramsdell (1909-11)
HB Arthur Kelleher (1910)
E Morgan Vining (1910)
T William S. Birge (1911, 13-15)
G James Goodman (1913-15)
E Thomas Maxey Hart (1916, 19-20)
HB Fred West Moore (1916-17)
G Albert William Penn (1916-17, 19)
G Dewey Bradford (1917)
T Dave Pena (1917-18, 21)
HB Pete Smith (1917)
T Bibb Falk (1918-19)
HB Alvaro “Bud” McCallum (1918-21)³
E Joe W. Moore (1920-22)
QB Benjamin James “Ben” Brown (1921)⁴
QB Franklin “Punk” Stacy (1922)
FB/HB Oscar Eckhardt (1922-23)
FB Rufus King (1925-26, 28)
C Clarence Rundell (1926)
G Albert Nemir (1929)
QB Howard “Hank” Clewis (1930-32)
G Homer Wilson “Cheesie” Cook (1930-32)
C Nick Gatoura (1930)
G Hill Hodges (1930-31)
E Jack Sparks (1930-31)
HB Jimmie Burr (1931-32)⁵
E Bennie Rundell (1931-33)
HB Osborne Hodges (1932)
G William Harry Mayne (1933)
G Joe Brevard Smartt (1933-35)
G Moreland Chapman (1934-35)
G Victor Debbs “V.D.” Basey (1939-40)
HB Ralph Park (1940, 43)
G Harold Fischer (1941-42, 44)
FB Raymond Jones (1942, 46-47)
HB Jim Canady (1943, 46-47)
QB Bobby Coy Lee (1943, 48-49)
E George McCall (1943, 46-48)
G Frank Gerling (1944)
QB Edbert J. Schutze (1944)
FB Henry K. Allen (1945)
HB Joe Billy Baumgardner (1945-47)
E Lewis Holder (1946-48)⁶
FB Travis Raven (1946)
G/C Charles Jungmichel (1947)
T Kenneth Jackson (1948-50)
E Ben Proctor (1948-50)
G Bill Milburn (1950-51)
T Julius Tillman “J.T.” Seaholm (1951, 56-57)
G Stan Studer (1951)
G John “Bull” Johnson (1952-53)
HB Delano Womack (1953-55)
C Leighton Younger (1953-54)
T Charles Baker (1956)
QB Mike Cotten (1959-61)
HB/FB Bobby Nunis (1960-62)
G/LB Johnny Treadwell (1960-62)
DL Tom Harper (1965)
WR/KR Dean Campbell (1970-71)
LB Conny Hatch (1979)
C Burke Collins (1991)
WR Don Holland (1995)
DE Cory Davies (1996)
RB Matthew Hofer (2005)
G Mark Buchanan (2010-11)
DS Trey Wier (2011)
WR Cayleb Jones (2012)
QB Charles Wright (2021-23)

Notable non-lettermen from Austin High

The list of former Austin High students who were members of the Longhorn football team but did not win a letter is likely a very long one, but for this post I will limit the group to two.

Steve Gardner

Gardner was a former Austin High student, a noted musician, and a veteran of World War I who was a backup center for the Longhorns in 1920, playing behind all-conference center A.M.G. Swenson. The program’s official lettermen list names him as a 1920 letterman, but contemporary news reports indicate that he did not play in enough games to win a varsity letter that year. Longhorn football media guides did not include his name on a lettermen list until 2001.

Mickey Macaluso

Macaluso, whose father was a longtime teacher at Austin High who had played football and baseball at Rice as an undergrad, was a star running back for the Austin Maroons who held the school’s record for career rushing yardage when he graduated in 1971. He signed with Texas in the same recruiting class as celebrated all-state running backs Roosevelt Leaks, Joey Aboussie, and Wade Johnston (who ended up playing linebacker for the Longhorns). Frequent injuries, position switches, and program depth kept Macaluso from ever playing in enough games to win a letter at UT, but after graduation he went on to a long career as a dentist and dental surgeon.

2. Westlake High School (Austin)

UT football lettermen who attended this school: 29

UT football team captains: 4
Brad Shearer (1977), Jeff Ward (1986), Breckyn Hager (2018), and Sam Ehlinger (2019-20)

Note: The Longhorns had game captains and not full-season captains for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Westlake alums Michael Taaffe and Ethan Burke both served as captains for multiple games in 2025.

UT football lettermen from Austin Westlake

G Rick Ingraham (1974-77)
DT Brad Shearer (1974-77)
K Jeff Ward (1983-86)
LB Duane Duncum (1986-89)
S Jimmy Saxton (1990-91, 93)
K Craig Dickey (1991-92)
TE Clay Howell (1991)
LB Dennis McWilliams (1991-92)
WR Cosmo Palmieri (1991, 93)
TE Jon Feick (1993)
RB Dennis Webb (1994)
FS Jim Clark (1997)
WR Ryan Nunez (1998-99)
K/P Jim Baker (1999)
DB/LS Hunter McWilliams (1999-2000)
RB Brett Robin (2000-03)
OL Robby Nethercut (2001)
K James Baker (2004)
WR Coy Aune (2007)
K Justin Tucker (2008-11)
DE/LB Breckyn Hager (2015-18)
QB Sam Ehlinger (2017-20)
OT Calvin Anderson (2018)
DE Ethan Burke (2022-25)
DB Michael Taaffe (2022-25)
K Gabriel Lozano (2023)
OL Connor Robertson (2023-25)
DE Colton Vasek (2024-25)
K Spencer Barnett (2025)

Notable non-lettermen from Westlake

Alec Beck

Beck was an all-state guard as a senior at Westlake in 1973 and signed with Texas in 1974 along with his high school teammates Rick Ingraham and Brad Shearer. He was a member of the Longhorn football program for parts of three injury-marred seasons but did not win a letter before he retired from football in 1976.

Jake Ehlinger

Ehlinger, the younger brother of Longhorn quarterback Sam Ehlinger, was a member of the Longhorn program for two years (2019-20) as a walk-on linebacker but did not appear in a game. He died tragically at the age of 20 in May of 2021.

3. (tie) Thomas Jefferson High School (Port Arthur)

UT football lettermen who attended this school: 23

UT football team captains: 1
Billy Gordon (1976)

Note: Thomas Jefferson High School (originally Port Arthur High School) closed in 2002 when it was consolidated with Port Arthur’s two other high schools to form the new Memorial High School.

When I ranked the top Texas Longhorn pipeline schools in 2022 I mistakenly attributed 24 lettermen to Port Arthur Jefferson due to the UT football website’s 1974 roster erroneously listing senior guard Bruce Hebert as a Port Arthur alum. The online rosters for 1972 and 1973 correctly list Hebert as a graduate of Spring Woods High School in Houston, and the 1974 error was not discovered until more than a year after that post’s publication.

UT football lettermen from Port Arthur Jefferson

C/T Thorleif “Swampy” Thompson (1924-25)
T Louis Olivier (1934)
T Derwood Peveto (1939, 41)
E Jesse Hawthorne (1940)
QB Guy Nunnelly (1945)
C Hugh Sidney Reeder (1950-52)
T Carl Larpenter (1956)
C Clarence Bray (1961-63)
OG Ronny Landry (1965-66)
WR Ragan Gennusa (1966-67)
WR Charles “Cotton” Speyrer (1968-70)
LB Raymond Fontenot (1969)
DB Terry Melancon (1972-74)
C Billy Gordon (1974-76)
DE Jim Hilliard (1974)
DT Tighe Huber (1974)
DE Paul Walker (1974)
TB/FB Don Holloway (1981-83)
QB Todd Dodge (1982-85)
DB Robert Smothers (1982)
WR Brent Duhon (1983-84)
DE Kip Cooper (1984-85)
RB Kenny Harrison (1994-96)

3. (tie) Waco High School (Waco)

UT football lettermen who attended this school: 23

UT football team captains: 2
Charley Coates (1934) and Joe Schwarting (1942)

Notes: Davis Prendergast was originally elected captain for UT’s 1903 team but did not enroll in school that fall and did not play for the team again until 1904.

In my notes I refer to this school as “old” Waco High to differentiate it from the school bearing that name today. The original Waco High School existed for a century before closing in 1986 when it was consolidated with two other Waco high schools: Jefferson-Moore and Richfield. The new school that came out of that merger was called Waco High School but adopted Richfield’s school colors and Jefferson-Moore’s lion mascot (the athletic teams at the former Waco High were the Tigers).

Longhorn stars Kwame Cavil (1997-99) and Derrick Johnson (2001-04) both graduated from the “new” Waco High, which is fundamentally a different school than the original Waco High, so in my records I do not include them in “old” Waco High’s total.

UT football lettermen from “old” Waco High

FB/T Davis McGee “D.M.” Prendergast (1901-02, 04)⁷
HB Bart Moore Jr. (1909-10)
E James Archibald “Pete” Edmond (1913-15)
T Edward Young “E.Y.” Boynton (1916)
C John Bachman Greer Sr. (1917, 19)
HB George Wendell McCullough (1919)
QB Robert L. “Bob” Murphree (1920)
QB Joseph Desha “Shea” Patton (1922)
HB/QB Hubert “Bertie” Foster (1924)
C John Temple “Pottie” McCullough (1925-27)
QB Claude Meadows (1928-29)
C/T Charles Shelton “Charley” Coates (1932-34)
E Henry Sears “Oochie” Earle (1932)
E Philip Sanger (1933-34)
E Joe Schwarting (1941-42)
E Jack West (1941-42)
E Danny Myers (1956)
G Joe Winter (1956)
HB Drew Morris (1958-60)
T Ken Ferguson (1961-63)
WB Brett Morris (1962)
SE George Sauer (1963-64)
T Gene Bledsoe (1964-66)

 

5. Amarillo High School (Amarillo)

UT football lettermen who attended this school: 22

UT football team captains: 1
Rick Fenlaw (1976)

Note: Amarillo High graduate James “Red” Goodwin (about whom I wrote a full post at Burnt Orange Nation five years ago) was originally elected a co-captain for the 1941 Texas Longhorns team along with Pete Layden. But Goodwin enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force in the spring of 1941 and never played football again. He served as a pilot in World War II and was killed in action during a mission over Germany in April of 1944.

UT football lettermen from Amarillo High

G Rex Phillips (1933)
G Gillem Ingerton (1934)
E Leo John “Pete” Peterson (1936-38)
HB John E. Gill (1938-40)
T William “Bill” Kilman (1938)
E Mike Sweeney (1938, 40-41)
T/G Don Williams (1938-40)
C James “Red” Goodwin (1939-40)
QB Vernon Martin (1940-41)
T Stanley Mauldin (1940-42)
E Harold King (1947)
E Rudy Bauman (1949)
HB David Russell (1959-61)
E Tommy York (1960-61)
DT George Cobb (1968-69)
LB Rick Fenlaw (1973, 75-76)
OT Bobby Giles (1973-74)
DB Scott Allen (1983)
LB Guy Bobbora (1989)
DE Bart Boxwell (1989)
DB Todd Ringo (1989-91)
RB Rick Hinnant (1995)

Notable non-lettermen from Amarillo High

Herbert Poyner

Poyner enrolled at UT after graduating from Amarillo High School in 1915. He was a reserve guard on the 1917 Longhorn team, and news accounts state that he appeared in at least four games and started once that year, but he was not awarded a varsity letter at the close of that season. After serving in the military during World War I he returned to UT and graduated in 1920. He went on to attend Harvard Medical School and was a longtime physician in Houston and was also a professor of surgery at the Baylor College of Medicine in that city.

Raymond “Wild Horse’ Mayes

Mayes was an all-state running back as a senior on Amarillo’s 1936 state championship team. In his time, he was described as “one of the all-time greats of Texas schoolboy football”. He was one of several players on Amarillo’s 1936 team who came to Texas in 1937 along with their head coach Blair Cherry, who was hired as a Longhorn assistant that year by new head coach Dana X. Bible. He played on the Longhorn varsity squad in 1939 but did not receive enough playing time to win a varsity letter, though he was seen as a very promising player. He became academically ineligible in 1940 and dropped out of UT that year. After serving in the Army during World War II, he completed his college education at Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State), then began a coaching career. While coaching the football team at Sheridan High School his team ran an early version of what would later be called the “wishbone” offense. He also coached the freshman baseball team at UT in the early 1960s.

 

6. (tie) Sam Houston High School (Houston)

UT football lettermen who attended this school: 21

UT football team captains: 3
Lawrence “L.H.” Feldhake (1908), Ben Dyer (1909), Gustave “Pig” Dittmar (1916)

Note: This school was Houston’s original public high school and has been known by at least a half dozen names during its existence. Its current name is the Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center. It still has a football program, but its team has finished with a .500 record only once in the past 35 seasons.

UT football lettermen from Sam Houston High School

QB/E Richard West “R.W.” Franklin (1898)
G Leopold George “Leo” Sam (1899-1900)
QB John DeLesdernier (1900)
QB Randon Porter (1902)
E Grover Jones (1903-05)
QB Neill Turner Masterson (1904)
QB Ben Dyer (1906-09)
T/G Lawrence Hugh “L.H.” Feldhake (1906-09)
FB William Krahl (1906-07)
HB/QB Leonard Barrell (1911-14)
G Alva Carlton (1913-16)
C Gustave “Pig” Dittmar (1913-16)
E Robert Blaine (1915-16, 19)
HB Joe W. Secor (1916)
T Richard Burns (1921-23)
C Weaver Moore (1922)
E Lester Settegast (1924)
T Thomas Marion Mobley (1926, 28)
G Herbert Tigner (1926-28)
HB Jimmy Boyles (1927)
T William Delpard “Bill” Wilson (1949-51)

 

6. (tie) Wichita Falls High School (Wichita Falls)

UT football lettermen who attended this school: 21

UT football team captains: 5
Joe Parker (1943), Max Bumgardner (1947), Dick Harris (1948), Billy Pyle (1949), and Don Maroney (1956)

Note: The book on Wichita Falls High School’s long and prominent history with the UT football program is almost certainly closed. The three high schools in the Wichita Falls Independent School District (Wichita Falls High, Hirschi, and Rider) were all closed at the end of the 2023-24 school year, and they were replaced by two new high schools (Legacy and Memorial) at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year.

UT football lettermen from Wichita Falls High

HB Jessie Leo Baldwin (1925, 27-28)
G/E Curtis Beaty (1927-29)
E Joe Parker (1941-43)
E Max Bumgardner (1942, 46-47)
G Daniel Phillips “Phil” Bolin (1943-44)
C William McGinnis (1943)
G David Green (1945)
C/T Dick Harris (1945-48)
T Robert Hames (1946)
HB Billy Pyle (1947-49)
C Alfred Miller (1948-49)
E John Allred (1949)
FB Don Maroney (1954, 56)
HB Curtis Reeves (1955)
E Maurice Doke (1957-59)
QB Johnny Genung (1960-62)
DT Fred Currin (1972-74)
HB Joey Aboussie (1973-75)
DT Steve Newmon (1973)
C Mike Hardage (1974)
RB Eddie Aboussie (2014)

 

8. Longview High School (Longview)

UT football lettermen who attended this school: 18

UT football team captains: 1
James Street (1969)

UT football lettermen from Longview High

E Nick Wheeler (1935)
G Chal Daniel (1939-41)
E Preston Flanagan (1940-41)
G Don Fambrough (1942)
E/HB Don Menasco (1949-51)
G Jim Pakenham (1949)
HB Don Barton (1950-51)
QB James Street (1968-69)
TE Gil Harris (1976-77)
DE Henry Williams (1977-79)
QB Blake Erskine (1989)
S/LB Lee Jackson (1998-2000, 02)
S Chris Butcher (1999)
OL Terrance Young (2003-04)⁸
RB Vondrell McGee (2007-09)
WR Dorian Leonard (2014-17)
OL Clark Orren (2015)
DL/OL Sawyer Goram-Welch (2021)

 

9. Lamar High School (Houston)

UT football lettermen who attended this school: 17

UT football team captains: 3
Walter Fondren (1957), Corby Robertson (1968), and Brian Orakpo (2008)

UT football lettermen from Houston Lamar

FB Ray Borneman (1948-49)
FB Larry Graham (1952, 55)
QB/HB Walter Fondren (1955-57)
HB Mickey Smith (1955-57)
G Don Wilson (1955-57)
FB Ray Poage (1960-62)
T/G Tom Currie (1963-64)
LB Corby Robertson (1966-68)
DE Chris Young (1968-69)
CB Roderick “Rod” Babers (1999-2002)
S/LB Drew Kelson (2004-07)
DE Brian Orakpo (2005-08)
DB John Bonney (2015-17)
CB Holton Hill (2015-17)
CB Anthony Cook (2018-22)
CB/WR D’Shawn Jamison (2018-22)
WR Al’Vonte Woodard (2019-21)

 

10. Tyler High School (Tyler)

UT football lettermen who attended this school: 16

UT football team captains: 6
Wallace Scott (1942), Mike Trant (1956), Earl Campbell (1977), Joey Ellis (1994), Tim Crowder (2006), and Aaron Ross (2006)

Note: Tyler High School was called John Tyler High School (aka “Tyler John Tyler”) until 2020.

UT football lettermen from Tyler High

G Woodrow “Woody” Johnson (1941)
HB Walton Roberts (1941-42)
E Wallace “Wally” Scott Jr. (1941-42)
K/P Billy Don Porter (1950)
E William Michael “Mike” Trant (1954-56)
RB Earl Campbell (1974-77)
DT Ernest Lee (1975-76)
DE Tim Campbell (1975-77, 79)
RB/LB Steve Campbell (1978)
CB Joey Ellis (1991-94)
S Chris Carter (1993-96)
DE Tim Crowder (2003-06)
S Matt Melton (2003-06)
CB Aaron Ross (2003-06)
DT Ashton Dorsey (2010-12)
DB Kitan Crawford (2020-23)

 

11. (tie) Robert E. Lee High School (Baytown)

UT football lettermen who attended this school: 15

UT football team captains: 2
Herbert Gray (1955) and Louis Del Homme (1957)

Note: During one remarkable decade-long stretch, a Baytown Lee alum started at least one game for the Texas Longhorns in every season from 1948 to 1958. Herb Gray, a co-captain of the 1955 Longhorn team, is the only Longhorn to be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

UT football lettermen from Baytown Lee

T Gene Vykukal (1948-50)
E John Adams (1949-51)
E Tom Stolhandske (1950-52)
E/HB Paul Parkinson (1952-54)
G/T Herbert Gray (1953-55)
C Louis Del Homme (1955-57)
T Tillman O’Brien (1958)
T Bill Stolhandske (1958)
C Bill Laughlin (1959-60)
T Scott Mann (1960)
K David Conway (1964-66)
C Scott Huntington (1977-79)
LB Fred Bednarski III (1988)
CB Pascal Watty (1990-93)
TE Chad Irwin (1998)

 

11. (tie) Highland Park High School (University Park)

UT football lettermen who attended this school: 15

UT football team captains: 1
Rob Moerschell (1984)

UT football lettermen from Highland Park

E Bill Ford (1926-28)
E Alfred “Big Un” Rose (1927-29)
E John Maxson (1933)
HB Roger Evans (1944, 46)
HB/QB Bobby Layne (1944-47)
HB Jack Collins (1959-61)
G John Raymond Seals Jr. (1960)
E Deryl Comer (1967-68, 70)
QB/TB Rob Moerschell (1981-84)
K Wayne Clements (1987-89)
G Robert Peeler (1995)
DB Brady Pool (1998)
K Nick Rose (2012-15)
WR Paxton Anderson (2023)
LB Marshall Landwehr (2024-25)

 

11. (tie) San Antonio Academy (San Antonio)

UT football lettermen who attended this school: 15

UT football team captains: 3
Walter Schreiner (1900), Frost Woodhull (1912), and Louis Jordan (1914)

Note: The San Antonio Academy was a key early pipeline school for UT football, and while it still exists it has not served high school students since the 1920s and has only lower school grades today.

I wrote a post last year on the San Antonio Academy and its status as a “forgotten Texas Longhorn pipeline school”. The one player listed below who was not mentioned in that post was Arthur Norton, an 1898 quarterback who has never been a listed letterman in program records, but who is mentioned in both contemporary UT sources and newspaper accounts as having been awarded a letter for that season. I was not aware of Norton at the time of the 2025 post’s publication.

T/FB John Frost Maverick (1894-95)
FB Clarence Waldman King (1896)
QB Lewis Maverick (1896)
E Walter R. Schreiner (1896-1900)
FB Carl Groos (1897-98)
QB Arthur Norton (1898)
E/QB Sempronius “Semp” Russ (1898-1900)⁹
HB Raymond Keller (1899)
C Victor Keller (1901)
HB George Vance Maverick (1902)
QB Seth Shepard Searcy (1903)
E Thomas Frost Woodhull (1904, 10-12)¹⁰
T/C Leon Goodman (1908)
G Louis Jordan (1911-14)
HB Joseph Ferguson “Joe” Ellis (1920)

 

11. (tie) Temple High School (Temple)

UT football lettermen who attended this school: 15

UT football team captains: 6
Mack Saxon (1926), Bobby Dillon (1951), Allen Ernst (1956), Bob Simmons (1975), Bret Stafford (1987), and Ta’Quon Graham (2020)

UT football lettermen from Temple High

QB Nelson Puett Sr. (1911-12)
QB Mack Saxon (1925-26)
HB Noble Doss (1939-41)
T Glen Morries (1942)
HB Leslie Proctor Jr. (1942)
C Keifer Marshall Jr. (1943)
G/T Edwin “Ed” Heap (1945-46)
HB Bobby Dillon (1949-51)
E Allen Ernst (1954, 56)
OT Bob Simmons (1973-75)
FB Carl Robinson (1979-82)
DT Kenneth Doan (1980)
QB Bret Stafford (1984-87)¹¹
DL Ta’Quon Graham (2017-20)
TE Jared Wiley (2019-21)

 

15. Texas City High School (Texas City)

UT football lettermen who attended this school: 14

UT football team captains: 3
Don Talbert (1961), Diron Talbert (1966), and D’Onta Foreman (2016)

UT football lettermen from Texas City High

E William Harold “Bill” Collins (1918)
T Eddie Padgett (1959-61)
T Don Talbert (1959-61)
C/G Marvin Kubin (1960-62)
SE Charles “Charlie” Talbert (1961-63)
T Clayton Lacy (1962-64)
T/G Diron Talbert (1964-66)
DT Mark Weber (1980-81)
DE Jermain Anderson (1998, 2000-01)
CB Ervis Hill (1998-2001)
LB Tyrone Jones (1999-2001)
LB Everick Rawls (1999-2001)
WR Armanti Foreman (2014-17)
RB D’Onta Foreman (2014-16)

The top 15 Texas Longhorn football pipeline schools

1. Austin High (75 lettermen)
2. Austin Westlake (29)
3. (tie) Port Arthur Jefferson (23)
3. (tie) (original) Waco High (23)
5. Amarillo High (22)
6. (tie) Houston Sam Houston (21)
6. (tie) Wichita Falls High (21)
8. Longview (18)
9. Houston Lamar (17)
10. Tyler High (16)
11. (tie) Baytown Lee (15)
11. (tie) Highland Park (15)
11. (tie) San Antonio Academy (15)
11. (tie) Temple (15)
15. Texas City (14)

After Texas City there are many schools tied for the next several places down the list. Rounding out the schools that have produced a double-digit number of Longhorn football lettermen, we find the following:

13 lettermen each

Austin Northwest (formerly Reagan), Brenham, Cleburne, Dallas Crozier Tech, Denton, and San Antonio Churchill

12 lettermen

Dallas Woodrow Wilson, Lubbock, Odessa Permian, San Angelo Central, San Antonio Fox Tech, and Spring Branch Memorial

11 lettermen

Abilene, Austin McCallum, Galveston Ball, Houston Heights, and Sherman

10 lettermen

Austin LBJ, DeSoto, Fort Worth Paschal, Marshall, and San Antonio Jefferson

If you know of any lettermen who attended the top 15 schools and were not named above, please message me or mention them in the comments. I’ll be showing a lot more of my work on this topic in future posts.