The Texas Longhorns have a long and distinguished relationship with the NFL. There are always plenty of University of Texas alumni featuring on the best professional teams once their time in the program has ended. Byron Murphy II and Xavier Worthy are just the latest two to be picked by major league teams in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft.
A select few have taken what they learned in Texas to the ultimate height in the NFL, winning the Super Bowl. Whether any will repeat that feat this year remains to be seen as we progress through the season. But most weeks you can be sure that former Longhorns will be making a lot of difference to the way that the top sportsbooks put together the National Football League betting lines.
This season actually looks like one of the most open in recent history. The Kansas City Chiefs are making strides to become the first team to ever win three Super Bowls in a row. But as we wait to see how the rest of the season goes, we thought we would celebrate some of the best-ever Longhorns to light up the NFL.
Bobby Layne
One of the true Texas Longhorns legends, Bobby Layne was a three-time NFL champion in the days before Super Bowls and was also a six-time Pro Bowler. He eventually played 15 years of pro football and was even said to have cursed the Detroit Lions when they traded him to Pittsburgh in 1958. That story was ultimately discredited – but the Lions were pretty awful for a good while.
Layne played both baseball and football for Texas and still holds a whole host of records for his time in the programs, now almost 80 years ago. He was a consensus All-American in his final year as a Longhorn and his famous number 22 jersey was retired for both his college exploits and for his time in Detroit.
Earl Campbell
Nicknamed “The Tyler Rose” due to his hometown, Earl Campbell is one of the most powerful running backs in NFL history and was a star of the league, mostly for the Houston Oilers. Although he never won a Super Bowl, he was named the NFL MVP in 1979, when the Oilers were at the height of their powers.
But before Campbell became a pro star, he had already won the hearts of the Longhorns faithful during four years of exceptional play. He won numerous awards while in Texas, no more prestigious than the Heisman Trophy in 1977. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991.
Colt McCoy
A four-year starter during his time at UT, Daniel “Colt” McCoy remains the only player in school history to win or share the team’s MVP award in every year of play. His winning record as a Longhorn was simply incredible and it earned him a third-round pick from the Cleveland Browns in the 2010 NFL Draft.
Although McCoy had been mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate while at Texas, he did find the jump to the NFL a tough one, with some pundits questioning his lack of size. He did play in each of his 13 years as a pro, however, and was considered an important team player for the Browns, 49ers, Redskins, Giants, and Cardinals. Recently retired, he is currently a Big Ten analyst for NBC.
Steve McMichael
Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year, Steve “Mongo” McMichael was a fearsome defensive tackle and followed up a successful NFL career with a stint as a professional wrestler. But before all that, he played as a Longhorn and was named as a consensus All-American in 1979.
It was the New England Patriots who took McMichael in the 1980 NFL Draft but he only stayed for a year there before becoming a legend with the Chicago Bears. Mike Ditka once called him the toughest player he had ever coached and he had the good fortune to win a Super Bowl – against the Patriots – in 1985.
Ricky Williams
Another Heisman Trophy winner, Ricky Williams was taken fifth overall by the New Orleans Saints in the 1999 NFL Draft and also played for the Miami Dolphins before retiring, for the first time, in 2004. It was in Florida where he enjoyed his best-ever season, becoming the league’s leading rusher and making it to the Pro Bowl in 2002.
After such a stellar college career for the Texas Longhorns, Williams never really became the NFL star that many thought he might be. He did have sporadic success and played in Canada for a while but NFL fans will probably always wonder what might have been. Luckily, Longhorns fans regularly got to see just how special Ricky Williams was during his time in Austin.
Justin Tucker
With over 30 former Texas Longhorns signing contracts with NFL teams this year, we thought we would round off this celebratory article with one that is consistently considered one of the best in his position. Justin Tucker enjoyed huge success at college football level and is now continuing those achievements in the pro game.
Although he went undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft, he was signed by the Baltimore Ravens and was so good in preseason that he was immediately named as a starter. He is currently a seven-time Pro Bowler, five-time First-Team All-Pro and won a Super Bowl in his rookie year, making two successful field goals against the 49ers.
