Blake Munroe

Correct! 8:45 AM

No. 16 might be one of the deepest numbers we’ve hit in this entire countdown. You’ve got James Street, who went 20-0 as Texas’ starting quarterback, won the 1969 national championship and became one of the most important quarterbacks in program history. Then there’s David Thomas, who finished his career with 98 catches for 1,367 yards and 15 touchdowns, was a three-time All-Big 12 selection and helped Texas win the 2005 national championship. His senior year was absolutely ridiculous... 50 catches, 613 yards, five touchdowns and no drops all season. Lance Gunn was a 1992 All-American and three-time All-SWC safety who finished with 298 career tackles and 10 interceptions. Michael Taaffe turned one of the best walk-on stories in Texas history into a two-time All-American resume, a Wuerffel Trophy and 222 career tackles. Robert Brewer went from walk-on to starting quarterback, became the 1982 Cotton Bowl MVP and helped lead the comeback win over No. 3 Alabama. Chris Carter finished with 13 career interceptions, earned first-team All-SWC honors and helped Texas win both the final SWC championship in 1995 and the first Big 12 championship in 1996. Jermichael Finley became one of the most productive receiving tight ends Texas has had, finishing with 76 catches for 947 yards and five touchdowns. Then, of course, there’s Arch Manning, whose story at No. 16 is still being written. He enters 2026 after accounting for more than 3,500 total yards and 36 touchdowns last season. And we can’t leave out Randall Clay, a 1949 All-American who led Texas in scoring twice during his career. That's a ton of history in one number... so much that I couldn't put their pictures on the graphic today because I ran out of room. So who is your pick? Who is the greatest Longhorn to ever wear No. 16?

17 days until kickoff, so today’s countdown looks at some of the best Longhorns to ever wear No. 17. This one ended up being a pretty fun group because it stretches across several different eras of Texas football. Tre Thomas was a major piece of those Texas defenses in the 1990s and one of the more productive defensive backs of his era. Cameron Dicker is probably the most recognizable recent No. 17. “Dicker the Kicker” gave Texas one of the most memorable Red River moments of the last decade with the game-winner against Oklahoma in 2018, and he finished his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer among kickers. John Hagy was another standout defensive back from the 1980s, while Willie Mack Garza was a four-year starter and one of the better defensive backs Texas had around the turn of the decade from the 80s into the 90s. And Adrian Phillips rounds out the group after a productive career in Austin before going on to have a long NFL career. Current No. 17s are Xavier Filsaime and Daylan McCutcheon.

My wife wants me to clean out the memorabilia closet. Let’s do it.

What started as an idea to build a place where Texas fans could get daily coverage, conversation and community has grown into 300,000 YouTube subscribers. From all of us at OTF, we can’t thank y‘all enough for watching, subscribing, jumping into the chat and helping build On Texas Football into what it is today.

19 days until Texas football, so today’s countdown takes us to No. 19... The headliner is Justin Tucker, and there really isn’t much debate there. Before becoming one of the greatest kickers in NFL history, Tucker was already money at Texas. He finished his Longhorn career 40-of-48 on field goals, scored 190 points, earned Second-Team All-Big 12 honors in 2011 and gave us one of the most memorable moments in the rivalry with Texas A&M when he drilled the walk-off field goal in College Station in 2011. Kerry Cash put together an excellent career at tight end from 1987-90, finishing with 71 career receptions and earning All-America honors in 1990 while helping Texas win the Southwest Conference championship. He went on to become an NFL Draft pick in 1991. Blaine Irby is another name a lot of Texas fans will remember. His career numbers don’t tell the whole story because of the devastating knee injury he suffered in 2008. He was a finalist for the FWAA Courage Award in 2011. And then there’s Brandon Jones, who was a four-year contributor in the Texas secondary. He finished his career with 233 tackles and four interceptions, was voted a team captain in 2019, earned All-Big 12 recognition and eventually became a third-round NFL Draft pick. Texas also currently has a pair of No. 19s to keep an eye on: EDGE Zina Umeozulu and QB MJ Morris.

There really isn’t much of a debate when it comes to No. 20 at Texas. Earl Campbell. The Tyler Rose put together one of the greatest careers in college football history, capped by a monster 1977 season in which he rushed for 1,744 yards, won the Heisman Trophy, earned unanimous All-America honors and was named both the Walter Camp and UPI Player of the Year. Campbell finished his Texas career with 4,443 rushing yards and 40 rushing touchdowns, posted three 1,000-yard seasons and was a three-time All-Southwest Conference selection. His No. 20 was eventually retired by Texas and he went on to earn induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. We’ve had some interesting debates throughout this countdown, but this isn’t one of them. 20 days until kickoff. Earl Campbell owns No. 20.

I figured he’d be the popular vote today!

Today’s number is a pretty strong one. At No. 21, you’ve got Rod Babers, Blake Gideon, Duke Thomas and Ryan Niblett. Babers probably has the strongest peak of the group, earning First-Team All-Big 12 honors in 2002, finishing that season with 21 pass breakups and becoming a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist. Gideon was the model of consistency, starting 52 games during his Texas career while piling up 276 tackles, 10 interceptions and 20 PBUs. He was also a two-time team captain and a fixture on some of the best Texas teams of the late 2000s. Duke Thomas put together a very solid final two seasons, earning Honorable Mention All-Big 12 twice, starting 25 games over that stretch and finishing 2014 with 3 interceptions and 10 PBUs. And Ryan Niblett has already added a major accolade to the No. 21 legacy, earning FWAA First-Team All-America honors in 2025 as a return specialist while also being named Second-Team All-SEC. So who yall got?

Today’s countdown takes us to No. 22 and this one starts with one of the true legends in Texas Football history. Bobby Layne is the headliner here for obvious reasons. A two-time consensus All-American, College Football Hall of Famer, Pro Football Hall of Famer and one of the most important players to ever come through Austin. He threw for 3,145 yards and 25 touchdowns at Texas, went 28-6 as a starting quarterback, helped lead the Longhorns to the 1945 SWC title and eventually had his No. 22 retired by the university. Behind Layne, Selvin Young gave the number a strong modern-era representative. Young finished his Texas career with 1,713 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns, averaged 4.7 yards per carry, scored three return touchdowns and was part of the 2005 national championship team. Billy Dale rounds out the group from the Darrell Royal era. Dale was part of back-to-back national championship teams and scored the game-winning touchdown against Notre Dame in the 1970 Cotton Bowl, one of the biggest plays of that championship run.

Glad to have you on the site! Let us know if you need anything (including requesting a ban on @Joe Zura and/or @Rocky P)

Today’s Countdown to Kickoff takes us to No. 23 and there’s a pretty interesting mix of Longhorns who have worn it over the years. Jeff Ward put together one of the best kicking careers in school history, finishing with 206 points while earning First-Team All-America honors in 1986 and three All-SWC selections. Danny Lester was part of Texas’ championship run under Darrell Royal, winning national titles in 1969 and 1970. His interception against No. 2 Arkansas in the 1969 “Game of the Century” helped keep Texas alive in the 15-14 comeback win. Carrington Byndom became a fixture in the secondary, appearing in 38 games with 26 starts, recording five interceptions and returning two of them for touchdowns. He was a First-Team All-Big 12 selection in 2011. And Jaydon Blue gave Texas another explosive weapon in the backfield, finishing his career with 1,161 rushing yards, 503 receiving yards and 11 rushing touchdowns while helping the Longhorns reach back-to-back College Football Playoffs. The current No. 23 is defensive back Jordon Johnson-Rubell. Who gets your vote as the best Longhorn to wear No. 23?

I was shocked he had enough to clench No. 15. There were numerous people I expected in front of him.

Just posted it in it's own (pinned) thread. Top six is universal.

I find it fascinating when it comes to the note on the top six. The fact that every staff member's votes lined up with what you guys (and gals) voted is amazing, imo.

We asked OTF subscribers to rank the best Texas Longhorns of the modern era (1992-present) and the results gave us some pretty fascinating takeaways. First and foremost, Vince Young absolutely ran away with the No. 1 spot. Vince received more than 82% of the first place vote, with only one ballot (out of hundreds) not including him in the top three spots. His lowest ranking from anyone who voted for him? No. 4. Ricky Williams was nearly as universal. Ricky appeared on 94.9% of ballots, and 88.1% of those voters had him inside the Top 3. In fact, Vince and Ricky were basically the consensus top two. On 76% ballots, they occupied the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in some order. Then things got really interesting. Colt McCoy did not receive a single first-place vote, yet still finished comfortably at No. 3. Derrick Johnson finished fourth. This created what looked like a pretty obvious Big Four among the fan base: Vince, Ricky, Colt, DJ After that, the debate really started. Cedric Benson edged Bijan Robinson for No. 5 despite Bijan appearing on more ballots. Bijan showed up on five more ballots than Cedric did, but the fans who voted for Cedric generally ranked him higher. Bijan was the only player, outside of Vince and Ricky, in the eventual top ten to receive a first-place vote. The tightest race came near the bottom of the Top 10, however: Michael Huff - 226 points Casey Hampton - 225 points Earl Thomas - 220 points Six total points separated three Texas legends. Hampton actually had stronger high-end support than Huff, with 19 Top-5 votes compared to Huff’s 11, but Huff appeared on more ballots and narrowly grabbed the No. 8 spot. When we compared the fan vote to the OTF staff composite, both groups independently produced the exact same Top 6 in the exact same order: Vince Young, Ricky Williams, Colt McCoy, Derrick Johnson, Cedric Benson, Bijan Robinson Ten staff voters and hundreds of fan voters somehow agreed on the top six perfectly. That’s pretty remarkable. Now let’s argue.... here is your Top 15, as selected by OTF Subscribers: View full news story

Targeting penalties assessed in the second half of a game will no longer require the offending player to sit out the first half of his team's next game, offensive pass interference will become a 10-yard penalty and the little-used fair catch kick will be introduced to college football. Those are among the changes for the 2026 season, the National Football Foundation announced Tuesday in its annual summary of rules changes. The targeting penalty change will be an experimental rule for 2026. A player disqualified for targeting for the first time in the season may participate in the following game. The trial rule will apply regardless of which half the targeting penalty is called. A player who draws his second targeting penalty of the season will be required to miss the first half of the next game. A player who draws his third targeting of the season must sit out the full following game. A conference can choose to initiate an appeals process after a player's second targeting penalty. The appeal would be sent to the NCAA national coordinator of football officials for a video review. If the appeal is successful, the player would not be forced to sit out the first half of the following game. The penalty for offensive pass interference is being adjusted from 15 yards to 10 yards. The rules reserve 15-yard penalties primarily for personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct. Defensive pass interference will remain a spot foul, with a maximum of a 15-yard penalty. In a change to align Division I rules with those in the NFL and high school, a team could choose to attempt a fair catch kick after a completed or awarded fair catch. The kick would be a place kick with a holder or a drop kick from the spot where the returner caught the ball. The defense would be at least 10 yards from the spot of the kick. If the ensuing kick goes through the uprights, it would be worth three points. The rarely used play last came up in the NFL in 2024 when the Los Angeles Chargers' Cameron Dicker converted from 57 yards against the Denver Broncos. Unsportsmanlike conduct: An automatic unsportsmanlike conduct penalty will be called if a player initiates any of these five actions or gestures: any act of simulating the brandishing of a weapon; slashing of the throat or a nose wipe signal; removing helmet after the ball is dead (with exceptions for timeouts and equipment adjustments); dead-ball contact fouls, such as pushing, shoving, striking, etc., that occur clearly after the ball is dead and that are not part of the game action; using forcible contact to push or pull an opponent off the pile after the ball is dead. Two replay challenges: The head coach will now have two replay challenges per game. If a coach wins at least one of their first two challenges, they are awarded a third challenge. A challenge can be made only if the team has a timeout remaining and available; if the challenge is successful, the team's timeout will not be charged. Other changes: Coach-to-player communications through the helmet is now permissible for all NCAA divisions. ... Helmet attachments (e.g., Guardian Cap, SAFR Helmet Cover) that enhance player safety are allowed. All helmets, with or without the attachment, must be of the same color and design. ... Up to two sponsor patches are allowed on the jersey, with conference approval. A third patch is allowed in conference championship or postseason games. Logos may not exceed 4 square inches. One commercial logo, not to exceed 4 square inches, is permitted on the helmet.

No. 24 has been worn by some outstanding Longhorns over the years. Tommy Ford was an All-American and co-captain of Texas’ 1963 national championship team. Raymond Clayborn earned All-America honors, was a two-time All-SWC selection and Texas’ team MVP in 1976. A.J. “Jam” Jones piled up 2,874 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns while leading Texas in rushing four straight seasons. And more recently, Jonathon Brooks rushed for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns in his breakout 2023 season. Also worth mentioning: 1969 national champion and co-captain Ted Koy, along with Joe Bergeron, who scored 25 career rushing touchdowns. And the current No. 24 for Texas: defensive back Warren Roberson. Who was the best to wear it?

Sent this to a buddy of mine who is an AD. He said it must’ve been a receiver if he didn’t realize it was in his helmet…. Because they don’t hit 😂

Live look at Joe:

Found this on ESPN and wanted to share… Multiple Texas mentions in the article (link below) Here's what they believe college football players are now earning to start and compete at the Power 4 level entering Year 2 of the revenue sharing era. QB: 1-3 mil RB: 300-800k WR: 400k-1 mil TE: 300-600k OT: 600k-1.2 mil IOL: 400-800k EDGE: 500k-1.2 mil DT: 500k-1 mil LB: 300k-700k CB: 400-900k S: 300-900k K: 50-200k P: 50-150k LS: 10-50k Full article: https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/49568548/college-football-2026-position-cost-transfer-portal

I bet @Joe Zura is weeping right now like the big crybaby he is.

Good observation. It will be interesting to see if we see a DFW switch over the next decade or not.

I get it. And that was just a tad before my time lol. I was 7 his final year. But he’s also automatically disqualified from the list, as he didn’t play in the modern era. I guess technically 1992, but 75% of his career was pre-poll.