The Texas Longhorns have a highly decorated past. It is amongst the most successful programs in the history of the NCAA. They have produced some of the best players of all time. With 51 bowl game appearances, Texas is second in terms of the highest appearances. Also, it has won 27 bowl games, fourth-highest by any team in history.
Players of Texas Longhorns have loads of awards and records behind their name. Players have offered their lives to the program and have left no stone unturned to make their team higher.
Every player that has ever played under this program has registered their names in the golden history of the Texas Longhorns.
Here’s the list of the top 10 players that have ever played for Texas Longhorns.
It is an extremely difficult task to rank some of the greatest players in history when each one of them has given so much to the program. We have ranked the players based on the data available, and there’s no amount of disrespect involved for the players.
1. Bobby Layne
- Class of: 1944-1947
- Position: Quarterback
- Bio: The 40 point performance Bobby presented in one of a Cotton Bowl Classic, that comprised 4 touchdowns, 2 throwings, and kicking 4 points is still considered as one of the most iconic performances for the program. Bobby went on to play 15 seasons in the NFL. Bobby holds the last position in the list because of the era he played in, otherwise, he is as capable as any other quarterback of the modern times.
2. Jerry Sisemore
- Class of: 1970-72
- Position: Offensive tackle and Guard
- Bio: Jerry was the number 76 for the program, he belonged to the NFL 1973 draft. He has won2 Pro Bowl titles, and 2 Unanimous All-American Eagles Hall of Fame. Jerry played for Texas for 3 years and helped them clinch the national championship two times in a row and also 3 Southwest Conference titles. He was the greatest offensive tackle that ever played for Texas.
3. Steve McMichael
- Class of: 1976-1979
- Position: Defensive Tackle
- Bio: Steve McMichael stayed with Texas for 4 seasons. He was one of the greatest linemen in college football and maintained his streak when he joined the Texas Longhorns. In his 4 years long stay with Texas, he piled up 28.5 sacks and committed 369 tackles in total. These are staggering figures for a Defensive Tackle. He has 2 Pro Bowl, 2First-team All-Pro, and 3 Second-team All-Pro titles behind his name.
4. Jerry Gray
- Class of: 1981-1984
- Position: Defensive Back
- Bio: Jerry is currently linked with the Green Pay Backert as their defensive back coach. He was a one-man army, on his day he could win the match single-handedly. In 1983 against Auburn he outshined everyone with the move of the game that was a single hand interception. That play made his team win that game. He belonged to the NFL 1985 Round 1 draft. He has 4 Pro Bowls to his name.
5. Derrick Johnson
- Class of: 2001-2004
- Position: Linebacker
- Bio: he was selected in the 2005 NFL Draft. He played for a total of 13 seasons and out of those 13 he made it to the Pro Bowls 4 times. He has a total of 1169 tackles to his name during his exceptional career. Johnson was at his peak during the last 3 years of his career, he registered more than 120 tackles each year with most of them contributing to the winning cause.
6. Colt McCoy
- Class of: 2006-2009
- Position: Quarterback
- Bio: After being selected in the NFL 2010 draft, Colt went on to play for several high profile teams and currently plays for the New York Giants. Nobody could have imagined at that time that this player will replace Vince Young. During his 3 seasons with the Texas Longhorns, he drove them to two consecutive titles. He ended up winning 45 games for the Texas Longhorns.
7. Earl Campbell
- Class of: 1974-1977
- Position: Running Back
- Bio: Earl was known for his aggressive playing style and had his way of breaking the attacks. He played as the number 20 for the Texas Longhorns. He was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1978, this was the time when his career was at its peak. The 222-yard performance of his that came against Texas A&M is still one of the most memorable moments for the Texas Longhorns. In 1976 he suffered an injury, still, he came back even stronger.
8. RB Ricky Williams
- Class of: 1995-1998
- Position: Running Back
- Bio: selected in the 1999 draft of NFL, Ricky was 2 time All-American when he was representing the University of Texas. He was known for his brute force combined with agility. Ricky was averaging way more than 5.9 yards per carrying during each season. He had more yardage and touchdowns than any Running back ever had for the Texas Longhorns. With 28 touchdowns he created the all-time NCAA record for career rushing yardage.
9. Tommy Nobis
- Class of:1963-65
- Position: Linebacker
- Bio: arguably the most successful and influential two-way player that ever played for Texas. In the 1966 NFL draft, he was the first player to be selected, he played with the number 60 jersey for the Longhorns. Tommy was named the NFL Rookie of the Year for 1966. For the Texas Longhorns, he averaged more than 20 tackles per game and the conversion rate was phenomenal too. He has won an All-American award for his exceptional defensive duties.
10. Vince Young
- Class of: (2003-05)
- Position: Quarterback
- Bio: It was more than just a belief that Vince could never lose a game, he was the finest player the program has produced. He took his team to the record second position on the leaderboard ahead of the 2005 season. During his time the Texas Longhorns offensive line was averaging above 50 points per game. He was the third pick from the NFL 2006 draft. Named as the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year for 2006. The greatness of the player can be assessed by the fact that the Texas Longhorns retired his jersey on August 30, 2008.
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