The 25 Greatest Players in Texas Longhorns Football History

When the SEC added the University of Texas, it did something rare, even in the age of rapid conference realignment and Playoff expansion.

The league added a genuine football blue-blood. The rich, as they say, became even richer.

Texas ranks in the top 5 in wins all-time and top 10 in all-time win percentage. With 4 national championships, Texas immediately joins Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee and fellow SEC newcomer and archrival Oklahoma as SEC football programs with 4 or more claimed national championships.

To win that much, of course, you better have elite players. As you’d expect with the flagship university in the sport’s biggest talent base, Texas has done well in talent acquisition. The Longhorns boast 62 Consensus All-Americans, 21 College Football Hall of Famers and 2 Heisman Trophy winners in their history, and they could conceivably add a third Heisman winner to their collection in 2024 with quarterback Quinn Ewers among the preseason betting favorites to collect the sport’s most prestigious trophy.

There’s a college football great at every position at Texas, but here is the SDS list of the 25 greatest players ever to suit up in Burnt Orange.

25. Quentin Jammer, DB (1997-2001)

Jammer was the finest cover corner I’ve ever seen in person, a perfect blend of speed, physicality and technique who allowed a miniscule 37.5% of targets against to be completed in his career at Texas. A unanimous All-American in 2001 and twice a first-team All-Big 12 selection, Jammer finished his career with 57 pass breakups, which remains the second highest number in school history. He was inducted into Texas’ prestigious Hall of Honor.

24. D’Onta Foreman, RB (2014-2016)

The 2016 Doak Walker Award winner rushed for 2,028 yards rushing for 15 touchdowns that season despite playing for a team that won just 5 games. If that isn’t incredible enough, Foreman rushed for over 100 yards in 13 consecutive games, breaking Earl Campbell’s previous record of 11 consecutive games. Foreman’s decision to opt out of a bowl game was trendsetting at the time — it is commonplace today — and that was the only reason the 100 yard streak ended.

23. T’Vondre Sweat, DT (2019-2023)

A unanimous All-American as a senior in 2023 and All Big 12 in 2022, Sweat was a force in the middle who won the Outland Trophy as the nation’s best interior linemen in 2023 and paced a Texas run to the College Football Playoff.

Sweat’s 18 career sacks don’t jump off the page, but his 31 quarterback pressures as a senior in 2023 were the best in the country for an interior linemen and his Heisman pose after scoring a receiving touchdown in that season’s Big 12 title game will be remembered forever.

22. Kenneth Sims, DT (1978-1981)

Sims started his career quietly but by his junior and senior seasons was an indomitable force in the middle, earning first-team All-SWC honors in consecutive campaigns. On a Texas team that won the Cotton Bowl and finished 10-1-1 as a senior, Sims became 1 of the 25 unanimous All-Americans to ever play for the Longhorns, making a staggering 131 tackles despite lining up on the interior of the defensive line. Sims was named the UPI National Defensive Player of the Year for his efforts and was the top defensive vote getter for the Heisman Trophy. Sims still ranks in the top 5 at Texas in career sacks, with 29.

He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2021.

21. Kiki DeAyala, DE (1979-1982)

The big Brazilian from Dallas still holds the Texas career sacks record with 40.5, sacks in a single season (22.5), and tackles for loss in a season (33). In 1981, DeAyala helped Texas post a fourth-quarter goal-line stand to upend No. 3 Alabama in the Cotton Bowl. Building on that campaign, DeAyala earned All-American honors as a senior in 1982, rewriting the Texas record books in the process.

DeAyala isn’t in the College Football Hall of Fame, but he should be.

20. Britt Hager, LB (1984-1988)

A tackling machine whose 195-tackle season in 1988 will never be touched, Hager earned All-American honors once (1988) and was first-team All-SWC twice. Hager finished with 499 career tackles, still the most in Longhorns history.

19. Johnnie Johnson, S (1976-1979)

Twice a unanimous All-American selection, Johnson was named the nation’s top defensive back in 1978 (before the award was renamed for Jim Thorpe). Johnson also captured SWC Defensive Player of the Year honors that season, where his highlights included a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown to punctuate a 41-0 win over TCU, 1 of 7 turnovers forced by Johnson that season. Johnson remains fifth all-time at Texas with 13 career interceptions.

Johnson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

18. Earl Thomas, S (2007-2009)

Thomas redefined what college coaches sought in safeties, which is his lasting legacy more than any of the numbers he put up in Burnt Orange.

“He was a different kind of player at that position, one we’d never seen before,” former Texas head coach Mack Brown told SDS. “He was a track star who could outrun your fastest wide receiver. He was an elite athlete who could engage your running back at the point of attack. He wanted to tackle you. He wanted to cover you. Coaches started evaluating the position differently after (Thomas).”

Thomas redshirted as a freshman, but was a Freshman All-American in 2008 and a Consensus All-American and Thorpe Award finalist in 2009, when he intercepted 8 passes, returning 2 for touchdowns while anchoring the back end of one of the nation’s fiercest defenses.

Thomas is eligible for inclusion on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot.

17. Roosevelt Leaks, RB (1972-1974)

The first Black All-American at Texas, Leaks won SWC Offensive Player of the Year honors in 1973 when he ran for 1,415 yards. He finished third in the Heisman balloting that season, guiding the Longhorns to the SWC title. Injuries derailed his senior campaign in 1974, but he remains 1 of just 8 Longhorns with multiple 1,000 yard rushing seasons and he was the the second in school history (Chris Gilbert) to do it in back-to-back seasons.

Leaks was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

16. Bobby Layne, QB (1944-1947)

One of only 6 Longhorns to have his jersey retired, Layne was a four-time All-SWC selection who left Texas the career leader in completions, passing yards and touchdown passes. Layne was a two-time All-American who won 3 conference championships in Austin. Layne’s most famous game came in a 40-27 Texas win over Missouri in the 1946 Cotton Bowl. Capturing Cotton Bowl MVP honors, Layne completed 11-of-12 passes and scored all 40 of the Longhorns’ points, with 4 rushing touchdowns, 4 field goals kicked, and 2 touchdown passes. That record stands today.

In 1968, Layne became the first Texas player inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

15. Jerry Sisemore, OL (1969-1972)

Sisemore was a three-year starter who won a national title in 1970 and earned unanimous All-American honors twice (1971, 1972). Sisemore remains 1 of only 30 college football players who earned unanimous All-American honors in two seasons or more, and one of only 3 Longhorns to accomplish that feat. Many regard Sisemore as the greatest offensive lineman in program history.

Sisemore was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

14. Jordan Shipley, WR (2004-2009)

There wasn’t much Shipley didn’t accomplish at Texas, where he remains second all-time in career receiving yards and touchdowns and first all-time in receptions (248). A Consensus All-American in 2009, Shipley set the Texas record for receptions (116), touchdowns (13) and yards (1,485) by a receiver in a single-season in that campaign, which ended with Texas falling to Alabama in the BCS National Championship game. Shipley is also the Texas record-holder for consecutive games with a touchdown reception (8) and receptions in a single game (15).

But perhaps more than anything he did as a receiver, it’s this kickoff return — 96 yards to the house to beat Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry in 2008 — that stands out above the rest.

13. Roy Williams, WR (2000-2003)

Williams stands at the summit of the Texas receiving mountaintop with 36 career receiving touchdowns and 3,866 career receiving yards. What’s more impressive is the yards per catch (16.04), nearly 3.2 yards higher than the 12.87 of the man closest to him in the Texas receiving record books, Jordan Shipley. The complete package as a red zone and vertical threat, Williams was three times selected All-Big 12 and earned All-American honors as a senior in 2003.

12. Brad Shearer, DT (1974-1977)

In an era of dominant defensive players at Texas, Shearer’s competency as a run stuffer and pass rusher commanded double teams and allowed teammates to flourish around him. Texas fielded 3 top-10 defenses in Shearer’s three years as a starter, and the hometown hero earned All-SWC honors in two of those seasons. As a senior in 1977, Shearer was named a unanimous All-American and captured the Outland Trophy, recognizing the nation’s best interior lineman.

11. Brian Orakpo, Edge (2004-2008)

Orakpo was a mismatch nightmare you could line up in a three-point stance or stand up on the outside. By his senior year, he excelled in coverage or as a pass rusher, providing a ton of flexibility to a defense that ranked in the top 10 nationally. Orakpo collected 11.5 sacks and was a unanimous All-American selection in 2008, winning the Bronco Nagurski Award as the nation’s most outstanding defensive player and the Lombardi Award, given annually to the nation’s best defensive lineman or linebacker.

10. Steve McMichael, DT (1976-1979)

A household name because of his NFL career as one of the stalwarts on the arguably the greatest professional defense of all time (1985), McMichael was equally as dominant a player in Austin, earning 3 All-SWC selections and unanimous All-American honors in 1979. McMichael’s 7 tackles for loss against Texas Tech in 1979 remains a Texas record, and the College Football Hall of Famer (Class of 2009) ranks in the top 10 in Texas history in sacks in a season (8th) and career (6th).

9. Jerry Gray, DB (1981-1984)

Gray’s 16 career interceptions rank third all-time at Texas, and his 7 in 1984 are second-most in the Burnt Orange record books. A hard hitting safety who embodied toughness, Gray was a two-time consensus All-American while playing at Texas for coach Fred Akers and he helped Texas win a conference championship in 1983. He was named the SWC Defensive Player of the Year that season and finished third in the UPI balloting for National Defensive Player of the Year.

Gray was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013.

8. Michael Huff II, S (2001-2005)

Huff anchored the national title winning defense for Texas in 2005, when he won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back. His most famous play that season wasn’t one of his 87 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, or 2 interceptions, but a head on a swivel fumble recovery of a Reggie Bush lateral that proved that Southern Cal just might not be invincible after all and gave the Longhorns the confidence they needed to rally and win the the national championship.

Or maybe it was another play in the greatest college football game ever played, where Huff did what he did his entire career at Texas — made a winning play. With 2 minutes and 13 seconds left in regulation and USC leading 38-33, the Trojans were at Texas’ 45-yard line and needed 2 yards on fourth down to keep possession and run out the clock. Two yards for a third straight national championship. If Michael Huff doesn’t greet and drop LenDale White in the hole on 4th-and-2 — there’s no Vince Young magic. Period.

A consensus All-American in 2009 and a two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection, Huff is rightly remembered for those plays. He’s also still the Texas defender with the most career defensive touchdowns (5).

Huff is on the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame ballot.

7. Cedric Benson, RB (2001-2004)

Benson holds two of the most productive seasons in Texas history with 40 rushing touchdowns combined in 2003 and 2004, the second-best 2-year stretch in Texas history. Benson also rushed for 1,000 yards in all 4 seasons he played in Austin, a feat for which he stands alone in Longhorn lore. Benson’s 64 touchdowns and 5,540 career yards both rank second in school history. Benson won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back in 2004 and was named All-Big 12 in all four of his seasons in Austin, earning first-team honors twice.

6. Tommy Nobis, LB (1963-1965)

A two-time All American, Nobis won about all you can win as a defensive player in college football. He won the Maxwell Award as the Most Outstanding Player in College Football. He won the Outland Trophy as the nation’s best interior defender. He won the Knute Rockne Memorial Award, at the time given to the best lineman in college football. He was a three-year starter … on both sides of the football, playing guard on offense and paving the way for a high-octane Texas run game that helped the Longhorns win the national championship in 1963.

“He was, without a doubt, the best football player I ever coached,” Darrell Royal famously said of Nobis, who averaged a staggering 20 tackles a game as a senior in 1965. His most famous play — and one of the most famous plays in the history of college football — came in his final game, when he stuffed Joe Namath at the goal line to cap a 21-17 win over Alabama.

Embarrassingly, the Crimson Tide claim the national championship to this day despite the defeat.

Nobis was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981.

5. Derrick Johnson, LB (2001-2004)

Johnson was a physical freak — a kid who looked different getting off the bus and was even more imposing once he put on his pads. A four-year starter for Mack Brown, Johnson collected 458 tackles (third in school history), with 281 of those coming solo (fourth in school history). Johnson played on four top-20 defenses in Austin, including one that led the nation in turnover margin, a testament to his ability to wreak havoc sideline to sideline. Twice a consensus All-American, Johnson was a unanimous All-American in 2004 when he also won the Nagurski Award as the nation’s best defensive football player and the Butkus Award as the nation’s best linebacker.

Johnson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2023.

4. Colt McCoy, QB (2005-2009)

At most programs, if you had 1 of the only 3 players to win 2 Walter Camp Awards, there’s no question they’d be No. 1 on this sort of list. Colt McCoy was, in fact, that good. A home state kid with a perfect Texas football name, McCoy started four seasons at Texas, winning team MVP honors in all four — the only player in Texas history to accomplish that feat. He was a consensus All-American in 2008, a unanimous All-American in 2009, and a Heisman finalist twice (2008, 2009).

As a senior, he led Texas to the national title game, winning the Maxwell and Walter Camp Awards (nation’s best football player) as well as the Unitas and Davey O’Brien Awards (nation’s best quarterback). Unfortunately, you know the rest — he was injured early in the Rose Bowl game against Alabama and missed 50 minutes of the game, which the Crimson Tide won by 16 points. McCoy’s No. 12 is 1 of 6 numbers retired by Texas, and a character in the show Friday Night Lights is loosely based on McCoy’s early rise to stardom as a Longhorn, adding to his Texas Forever lore. His 45-8 record as a starter included multiple Big 12 Championships, and he would go on to a lengthy career in the NFL, rostered for over a decade.

McCoy last played in the NFL in 2022, so he isn’t yet eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame, but he should be a lock to make it as soon as the 5-year waiting period ends.

3. Vince Young, QB (2002-2005)

Rarely does a player as acclaimed as Young was coming out of high school in Houston live up to the prodigious hype, but VY made good on his promise and more. Young appeared in all 12 games in all 3 seasons he played at Texas, but was inconsistent as a passer as a sophomore, averaging just 7.4 yards per attempt and throwing 11 interceptions that season. But the flash was there, as Young rushed for over 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2004, including a 192-yard, 4-touchdown performance in a thrilling Rose Bowl win over Michigan to close the 2004 season. After the Rose Bowl win, Young told a national TV audience “We’ll be back,” referencing the fact that the 2006 BCS National Championship Game would be held at the Rose Bowl.

VY made good on his promise. As a redshirt junior, Young completed a career-best 65% of his passes, threw for 3,036 yards, rushed for 1,050 more and accounted for 38 touchdowns in guiding Texas to a 12-0 season and the national championship game. Young won Big 12 Player of the Year, the Maxwell Award as the nation’s best player, and the Manning and Davey O’Brien Awards as the nation’s best quarterback.

Then, of course, he won the biggest game of his life, generating a staggering 467 yards of total offense (267 passing, 200 rushing)in guiding Texas to a 41-38 upset of Southern Cal in what remains the greatest college football game ever played.

4th & 5. The National Championship on the line.@VinceYoung10 & @MattLeinartQB break down the TD that won @TexasFootball the 2006 Rose Bowl. pic.twitter.com/Aqt2TbVaOi

— Omaha Productions (@OmahaProd) September 28, 2022

Young capped the game-winning drive with a 5-yard touchdown run that was named the 5th greatest play in the history of college football by ESPN.

In 2019, Young was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

2. Ricky Williams, RB (1995-1998)

“A potent blend of speed, personality, physicality, and the will to win,” John Mackovic told Sports Illustrated of Williams in 1998, and the numbers and backstory bear the quote out. In bohemian Austin, Williams was just another guy with dreadlocks, piercings, and creative ink who enjoyed the city’s storied music scene. On the field, Williams was anything but just another guy, even if it took multiple dominant seasons for Williams to escape the shadow of his early nickname in Austin, “Little Earl,” an homage to Earl Campbell, the great Texas running back to whom Williams took pride in being compared.

Williams could have left — and been a first-round pick — after the 1997 season when he rushed for 1,893 yards and 25 touchdowns, averaging an astonishing 6.8 per carry. Instead, he came back to school, rushed for 2,124 yards, scored 28 touchdowns, and won the 1998 Heisman Trophy.

Williams’ consecutive 300-yard performances record will never be matched, and his career all-purpose record of 7,206 is also likely untouchable. A consensus All-American twice, Williams also holds the Texas single-season rushing touchdowns record (27) and career touchdown record (72). An absolute force of nature who would be No. 1 at almost any program but Texas.

Williams was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

1. Earl Campbell, RB (1974-1977)

I’ll make this simple for SEC football fans still learning about Texas football: Earl Campbell was Herschel Walker before Herschel Walker. Campbell was a unicorn, a blend of speed, power and size never seen at the time and rarely seen since. If they counted bowl stats (and they didn’t at the time), Campbell would have topped 1,000 yards in 3 of his 4 seasons. He had 928 as a freshman in an era when freshmen rarely played, and added 91 more in the bowl game. And if he didn’t get hurt and miss several games in his junior season, he would have easily topped 5,000 yards rushing in his college career.

But the 1977 Heisman Trophy winner isn’t No. 1 on this list because of numbers. After all, Williams had better numbers and Vince Young had the most special singular season. Campbell is No. 1 because of the eye test and his style, grace and pure power that came to embody Texas football.

Campbell could be tackled, but not without running through you.

Campbell averaged 6.5 yards per attempt in his Heisman campaign, compiling 1,744 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns in the process despite routinely facing 8- and even 9-man fronts.

Campbell was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1990.

“There wasn’t anything you could do — it was poetry and raw nasty power all rolled into one,” Steve Sarkisian told the Longhorn Network of Campbell in 2023.

There have been few as good anywhere since — and none ever as good at Texas.