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On Texas Football's Top 25 Players of the Modern Era (1992-Present)

Blake Munroe
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Blake Munroe Lifetime Longhorn

Blake Munroe

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After combining ten individual Top 25 ballots from the On Texas Football staff into one composite ranking, we now have our Top 25 Players of the Modern Era list. Each ballot was scored on a 25-to-1 points system, with 25 points awarded for a first-place vote, 24 for second place and so on.

At the top, two of the most iconic players in Texas football history separated themselves from the rest of the field.

Vince Young finished No. 1 overall, narrowly edging Ricky Williams for the top spot. Young totaled 247 points across the 10 ballots, while Williams finished just four points behind with 243.

Young received seven first-place votes, while Williams received the other three. Every voter ranked both players either first or second.

Behind them, Colt McCoy came in at No. 3 with 227 points, followed closely by Derrick Johnson at No. 4 with 223.

The top four created a clear consensus among the OTF staff, but the rankings became much tighter from there.

Cedric Benson rounded out the top five, followed by Bijan Robinson, Casey Hampton, Michael Huff, Kelvin Banks Jr. and Brian Orakpo.

Banks, Orakpo and Earl Thomas were separated by just one point, with Banks finishing ninth at 160 points and Orakpo and Thomas tying at 159. Orakpo earned the No. 10 spot through the composite tiebreaker (using the highest individual placement on any ballot).

The list features players spanning more than three decades of Texas football, from stars of the early 1990s to members of the Longhorns' recent College Football Playoff teams.

It also highlights just how difficult it is to compare players across positions and eras.

Quarterbacks and running backs dominate the very top of the ranking, but the Top 25 also includes elite linebackers, defensive backs, offensive linemen and defensive linemen who helped define their respective eras.

Still, the biggest debate may be the one at the very top.

Williams owns one of the greatest individual résumés in college football history, including the 1998 Heisman Trophy, while Young delivered perhaps the most iconic season and championship performance Texas football has ever seen.

When the votes were totaled, Young had just enough support to claim the title of On Texas Football's No. 1 Longhorn.

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Blake Munroe Lifetime Longhorn

Blake Munroe

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Some interesting data points:

13 of the Top 25 appeared on all 10 staff ballots.

The list is almost perfectly balanced by side of the ball: 13 offensive players and 12 defensive players. 

Running back is the most represented single position with five players: Ricky Williams, Cedric Benson, Bijan Robinson, Jamaal Charles and D’Onta Foreman.

Secondary, as a whole, is even deeper: Michael Huff, Earl Thomas, Quentin Jammer, Jahdae Barron, Aaron Ross, Michael Griffin and Nathan Vasher. Seven of the 25 are defensive backs.

18 of the 25 played at least one season under Mack Brown. Even crazier, 13 of the Top 15 are Mack-era players. Bijan Robinson and Kelvin Banks Jr. are the only two members of the Top 15 who never played for Mack.

Michael Huff is a fascinating case. He finished No. 8 despite appearing on only nine of the 10 ballots. His average rank when selected was 6.89, meaning the people who voted for him generally had him very high.

Same phenomenon with Brian Orakpo: only nine ballots, yet he finished No. 10. His 8.33 average ranking when selected was much stronger than several players who appeared on every ballot.

Byron Murphy II made the Top 25 despite appearing on only five ballots. That's the fewest appearances by anyone in the final 25. When people believed he belonged, though, they ranked him high enough to get him to No. 23.

Meanwhile, D’Onta Foreman appeared on nine ballots but finished just No. 21. That's almost the opposite profile: broad agreement that he belonged somewhere on the list, but generally toward the bottom.

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alrightalrightalright Lifetime Longhorn

alrightalrightalright

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I imagine many of us had the exact same Top 5.  Very fun to see how the next 20 shook out.

Would love to see where Sam and Quinn landed--and if they rise as time goes on. 2nd and 3rd in all-time passing yards at Texas, helped bring Texas back from the dark ages, winners of NY6 Bowls.

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Adam Lane Lifetime Longhorn

Adam Lane

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Interesting breakdown by position:

7 Cornerbacks/Safeties

5 Running Backs

4 Offensive Linemen

3 Defensive Tackles 

2 Linebackers

2 Receivers

2 Quarterbacks

0 Defensive Ends - that will change this year with Colin Simmons

Validates our claim of DBU!!!  Every one of them played in the NFL for quite some time.

Edited by Adam Lane
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Alex Butler Lifetime Longhorn

Alex Butler

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10 minutes ago, Adam Lane said:

Interesting breakdown by position:

7 Cornerbacks/Safeties

5 Running Backs

4 Offensive Linemen

3 Defensive Tackles 

2 Linebackers

2 Receivers

2 Quarterbacks

0 Defensive Ends - that will change this year with Colin Simmons

Validates our claim of DBU!!!  Every one of them played in the NFL for quite some time.

Orakpo is a DE in my book, are we calling him a LB @Blake Munroe?

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EastTxBiggs Freshman

EastTxBiggs

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38 minutes ago, Blake Munroe said:

Some interesting data points:

13 of the Top 25 appeared on all 10 staff ballots.

The list is almost perfectly balanced by side of the ball: 13 offensive players and 12 defensive players. 

Running back is the most represented single position with five players: Ricky Williams, Cedric Benson, Bijan Robinson, Jamaal Charles and D’Onta Foreman.

Secondary, as a whole, is even deeper: Michael Huff, Earl Thomas, Quentin Jammer, Jahdae Barron, Aaron Ross, Michael Griffin and Nathan Vasher. Seven of the 25 are defensive backs.

18 of the 25 played at least one season under Mack Brown. Even crazier, 13 of the Top 15 are Mack-era players. Bijan Robinson and Kelvin Banks Jr. are the only two members of the Top 15 who never played for Mack.

Michael Huff is a fascinating case. He finished No. 8 despite appearing on only nine of the 10 ballots. His average rank when selected was 6.89, meaning the people who voted for him generally had him very high.

Same phenomenon with Brian Orakpo: only nine ballots, yet he finished No. 10. His 8.33 average ranking when selected was much stronger than several players who appeared on every ballot.

Byron Murphy II made the Top 25 despite appearing on only five ballots. That's the fewest appearances by anyone in the final 25. When people believed he belonged, though, they ranked him high enough to get him to No. 23.

Meanwhile, D’Onta Foreman appeared on nine ballots but finished just No. 21. That's almost the opposite profile: broad agreement that he belonged somewhere on the list, but generally toward the bottom.

I feel like Sweat overshadowed him just because he was so big.  I don’t believe Sweat has the season he had without Murphy doing what he did.  I believe Sweat needed Murphy to succeed and not vice versa IMO.

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CJ Vogel Lifetime Longhorn

CJ Vogel

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41 minutes ago, EastTxBiggs said:

I feel like Sweat overshadowed him just because he was so big.  I don’t believe Sweat has the season he had without Murphy doing what he did.  I believe Sweat needed Murphy to succeed and not vice versa IMO.

I'm a bit different on it.

Sweat played five seasons, with 230+ snaps in all five years. He logged 700+ more snaps career wise than Murphy. Not to mention the physical presence of a 370-pound interior defensive lineman allowed for Murphy to see minimal double teams in comparison. 

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