Jump to content

Players You Thought Were Wasted Talent/Surfire Stars on the 40 Acres


d.plainview872

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, Eggo said:

Malik Jefferson

I don’t think you understand how this game works. Co-defensive player of the year in conference, 2nd team all American, 3rd round pick. He doesn’t qualify for this thread lol. Just because he didn’t end up being Derrick Johnson doesn’t mean he wasted his talent here.

Edited by youdunnf'dup
Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, youdunnf'dup said:

I don’t think you understand how this game works. Co-defensive player of the year in conference, 2nd team all American, 3rd round pick. He doesn’t qualify for this thread lol. Just because he didn’t end up being Derrick Johnson doesn’t mean he wasted his talent here.

Okay, but that didn't happen until Orlando showed up. If you compare Malik's first two years compared to his hype coming in and what his junior season showed he was capable of, I would mark that as a disappointment. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mark McBath was a stud before he blew his knee out against OU in 1977. When he returned, he was a stud, beat the shit out of Maryland in the Sun Bowl 42 -0 and went off to medical school.

Jon Aune also was seriously injured against OU in 1977. When he returned he was not the same player. I don't think he belongs in the underperformer group, especially considering he played under Akers who was not renowned as an offensive genius.

After McBath and Aune went down, Randy McEachern took the reins handing off to Earl undefeated until Notre Dame kicked the Longhorns' asses in the Cotton Bowl.

Hardeman, Henry and a couple of other Mack Brown gems were known troublemakers in HS, but Brown signed them nonetheless. One of those assholes hooked up with FR Andre Jones the 5* DL from El  Paso and led him to a path of crime, drugs, self-destruction and death at a young age.

Ivan Williams was a very good player who whose talents dipshit Greg Davis refused to exploit. He tore Nebraska a new asshole on short passes out of the backfield only to have Davis suffer amnesia and not call the play the remainder of the season. 

Ramonce Taylor is the undisputed winner in the self-inflicted waste column. He was a stud for Texas. Had he kept his life together he would have been an All American and possibly a Heisman contender. He had great vision, balance, acceleration and ability to find holes and hit them quickly.  He also had an attitude and focus about advancing the ball to the end zone. It was as if he didn't give a damn about or was oblivious to the opposing players - they were simply pieces on the board to avoid while moving forward. He never seemed to get hit hard when tackled.  His Texas highlight films are insane.  That 2005 backfield was unparalleled: Jamal, Selvin and Taylor.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/25/2019 at 10:33 PM, Dewey said:
On 1/25/2019 at 8:59 PM, Butch Had Not said:
Fair to put priest in here? Untapped talent here with glimpses but really showed himself in the NFL.

No, injuries and sharing a backfield with Ricky.

True but Mackovic definitely did not know what he had in Holmes.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Walden Ponderer said:

Kenny Hayter. Against Okie State, year 2000, we needed a big bruiser and he delivered with 20 rushes for 120+ yards, at more than 6 ypc.

He then promptly disappeared from the face of the Earth.

Transfered to TCU when it was clear he would be stuck behind Cedric Benson. And then he disappeared from the face of the Earth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Your Mom said:

Victor Ike. 

Dude was fast. Earl told us in an interview that he thought Victor was a future Heisman Trophy winner. I believed it. 

When he returned that kickoff for a TD, I thought we were going to see some great things.  Not so much.

I think that was the first kickoff return for a TD we'd had in ten years or something strange.  Prior to that return, we owned the record for most games played without one, if I recall.

 

Edited by garrett01
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, garrett01 said:

When he returned that kickoff for a TD, I thought we were going to see some great things.  Not so much.

I think that was the first kickoff return for a TD we'd had in ten years or something strange.  Prior to that return, we owned the record for most games played without one, if I recall.

 

It was the first kickoff return TD for Texas in 22 years (1978-2000). 266 games as Tirico awesomely yelled out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, formermav43 said:

I must be missing something here.

When the family attended LSU-Tulane games, Y.A. Tittle was impressed with the tiger mascot, the campus and the football atmosphere at LSU. After he led Marshall High to the state playoffs as a senior, Y.A. signed a letter of intent with LSU. But a few days before he was scheduled to go to Baton Rouge, he was pressured into going to the University of Texas.

One reason everybody was courting Tittle was that he had asthma. In 1944, that meant he wasn't likely to be drafted by the Army.

His summer roommate in Austin was Bobby Layne, and they had barefoot races in the street in front of their boarding house. But Y.A. wasn't hooked on the ‘Horns.

When LSU assistant coach Arthur “Red” Swanson visited him the week before registration, Tittle was eager to go to Baton Rouge. Swanson insisted that he obtain the permission of Texas coach Dana Bible. Tittle pretended to call the Longhorns' coach from a telephone booth, breathing a sigh of relief when there was no answer. Then he lied to Swanson, assuring him that everything was alright. Bible howled about the “kidnapping,” but couldn't do anything about it.

When he was interviewed prior to his Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame induction in 2003, late LSU running back Jim Cason, who would be picked up in Houston after getting Tittle in Austin, called it “the greatest heist since the Brinks.”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, UcancallmeSurly said:

When the family attended LSU-Tulane games, Y.A. Tittle was impressed with the tiger mascot, the campus and the football atmosphere at LSU. After he led Marshall High to the state playoffs as a senior, Y.A. signed a letter of intent with LSU. But a few days before he was scheduled to go to Baton Rouge, he was pressured into going to the University of Texas.

One reason everybody was courting Tittle was that he had asthma. In 1944, that meant he wasn't likely to be drafted by the Army.

His summer roommate in Austin was Bobby Layne, and they had barefoot races in the street in front of their boarding house. But Y.A. wasn't hooked on the ‘Horns.

When LSU assistant coach Arthur “Red” Swanson visited him the week before registration, Tittle was eager to go to Baton Rouge. Swanson insisted that he obtain the permission of Texas coach Dana Bible. Tittle pretended to call the Longhorns' coach from a telephone booth, breathing a sigh of relief when there was no answer. Then he lied to Swanson, assuring him that everything was alright. Bible howled about the “kidnapping,” but couldn't do anything about it.

When he was interviewed prior to his Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame induction in 2003, late LSU running back Jim Cason, who would be picked up in Houston after getting Tittle in Austin, called it “the greatest heist since the Brinks.”

a sigh of relief that there was no answer to a fake call?  huh?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Bateshorn said:

Some of these guys would tear it up in today's hybrid game: Ike, OJ Mclintock, Kelson.  They just existed at the wrong time in football (and we had the wrong staff) to take advantage of their "go win the game" athleticism.

  How I interpret this list.  Guys that didn't get hurt.  Didn't thug their way out of the program (looking at you Edorian McCullough).  Didn't become poon hounds (I was at that party when Shea tumbled down the KA staircase with a blonde under each arm....jacking up his leg at "practice")

Guys that stayed.  Put in the work.  And just never saw the field.  Maybe they slacked at practice or didn't have the horsepower between their ears to learn and transition from the HS to college game?    

I really thought J.Heard was the answer.  I followed him in HS.  How electric he was in that dick-punch of a Cal game.  Then he made some plays at WR.  Just never put it all together.  Man I was rooting for that cat!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Justin McLemore (sp?) was a gazelle. He ran a 13.5 100m hurdles to win the State Meet while at Waxahachie HS. He was good, but I always thought he would have been more productive with a better offense. But again, maybe he was destined to be a white John Burt.

We had a punter in the 2000s named Trevor Gerland who ran a 13.62 in HS, and he finished runner up to Jamaal Charles (a 13.55 guy) at the Texas State Meet.  Why Mack never ran a fake punt with a UT sprinter back there, I’ll never know. He wasn’t remarkable as a punter, but he didn’t ride the bench, either. Tony Brackens wouldn’t even get there for the kill. 

Look at that, Trevor just made a thread. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/24/2019 at 10:28 PM, pyrohornIII said:

I think the 'stache   made us expect more.  Or was that Cordaro? 

Mike Cordero had the ‘stache. He talked me into the strangest date I ever had. Not with him, with a sorority chick. 

He and Ted Constanzo were both recruited by DKR tobrum the wishbone. 

Edited by ImissWallyPryor
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/24/2019 at 9:52 PM, CycleTex87 said:

One of my top five favorite Longhorn games of all time.  

My dad and I had a double date to that game. The game was glorious. We drove back to Austin to eat at Beans on W 6th Street, with Nebraska vs OU on the radio. Got to listen to OU blow the chance to upset the Huskers and make us #1 heading into the Cotton Bowl. It was the only time I recall pulling for OU, but in hind sight, had we been #1, that Georgia loss would have been even more heart breaking. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Edwin Simmons if I recall correctly was supposed to be the next Earl.  Flashes of brilliance but never could get past his injuries.

 

For those of us who saw him before they messed his legs up. He was Eric Dickerson and Adrian Peterson in one body. My opinion. Straight up runner and just powerful. What could have been.

2c3094128c78769d79fa637e1f9dbe00.jpg

 

For the uniform czars - look at that jersey. Perfect.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I sat across from Edwin Simmons in the Student Health Center in January or February of 1984, when he was being treated for his knee injury. He was wearing shorts (and the rest of his clothes)  and for whatever reason, I remember thinking that he had skinny lower legs/calves for a freak athlete. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, CycleTex87 said:

I sat across from Edwin Simmons in the Student Health Center in January or February of 1984, when he was being treated for his knee injury. He was wearing shorts (and the rest of his clothes)  and for whatever reason, I remember thinking that he had skinny lower legs/calves for a freak athlete. 

 

that wasn't his lower leg.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...