Sean Adams Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 I'm doing this breakdown on the Longhorn Network today trying to find UT's greatest athlete and it got me thinking... Won't Texas' best athlete have to be a football player regardless of anything because Texas is a "football school". I assume the same would apply as basketball players would take the cake at Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina and Duke. The same would apply to Alabama, Notre Dame and USC in football? Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.B. TexasEx Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 Hell, yeah \m/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drgilbert Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 I would agree it would probably be a football player. If we would have had someone like Michael Phelps he would be the winner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streettopeschel Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 such a broad question. greatest for what they did at UT? greatest pro career? a combination ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primal defense Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 You can do it that way, however a case can made for who is probably going to end up with the greatest pro career for an UT ex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 enough said! Etex Horn, since_DKR and J.B. TexasEx 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasdobbs Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 James Street... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armadillo slim Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 i don't think it necessarily has to be a football player although earl campbell would be in any discussion of greatest athletes. honestly, texas' record in baseball surpasses its record in football by a wide margin and automatically defining Texas as a "football" school is a highly subjective label. And even if we did agree that it was a football school (which i would have trouble with), limiting the greatest athlete to football players only would be a mistake. so, the correct answer to your question is "no". IMO, obviously. to give you an example, i would submit that most people would label Ohio State as a football school, but it would be very hard for me to choose anyone but Jack Nicklaus as the greatest Ohio State athlete. Shevis Irons 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
since_DKR Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 James Street... I would have agreed with you if there had never been a Vince Young. I have been fortunate enough to see both play, and after I saw Vince he became the winner. If Vince had stayed for one more year he would have won back to back NC's for the Longhorns. He was that good. He certainly lived up to the name "INVINCEABLE" monarch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke C #11 Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 Burt Hooton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
java Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 We had some great two sport athletes in Royal's years, and if Mack had been better at developing talent, the same might have been said for Mack. Don't dismiss Nobis, Seismore, Lam Jones, Durant, Ricky, Earl, Vince, and the list goes on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echeese Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 Is this "solely" while on the 40 or is this a combo with pro careers? KD will be a great pro but did he really do much on the 40? Certainly didn't cut down the nets .. . Best combo of both? Pretty easy really. . . . . pick one from the below list:Bobby Layne (would be my #1) Earl Campbell Tommy Nobis Roger CLemons .. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planohorn Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 He probably won't be high on the list but I think an interesting case could be made for Marquise Goodwin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planohorn Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 I had to go look it up but Trey Hardee won back to back World Championships and a silver Medal in the 2012 Olympic Games in the decathalon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcherry168 Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 As probably one of the longest lifers around, I do not think you can pick one "greatest" athlete. There have just been too many, playing in different eras and in different sports. It is really difficult to compare, say, Bobby Layne with Vince Young. Both would qualify as great athletes at Texas, but they are from different times. Kids today are just bigger, stronger and faster than they were during Layne's time. Back then there was no weight training (that was actually discouraged). Concepts and style of play has also drastically changed. Layne was Texas' first "T" quarterback.....a position that was just being implemented in football. Before he played his senior year, Texas was a single wing team, and the "T" was adopted to take advantage of his athleticism. Of course, Bobby was a two sport guy....he was an outstanding pitcher. By the same token, it is really difficult to compare Tom Hamilton and Slater Martin with guys like Kevin Durant and T.J. Ford. Different eras, different game. Don't forget the guys who were setting world records in the sprint relays back in the 1950s. Toward the end of that run we had a kid named Eddie Southern, who was extraordinary. There have been great baseball players and golfers as well. I won't take the time, but there are a hundred or more guys that could go on a list of the greatest....all of them great players in their time. Trying to pick one will just boil down to a popularity contest, because there are so many that would qualify....some relatively unknown to most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shevis Irons Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 Johnny "Lam" Jones would have to be on the short list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
streettopeschel Posted May 15, 2014 Report Share Posted May 15, 2014 James Street...i'm a huge street fan (hence my screen name) but i suspect he'd laugh at the notion he was the greatest athlete in UT history. i bet he'd say he wasn't even the best of the starting '69 backfield. these type questions are fun barstool type things to kick around. where do sanya ross or cat ostermann fit in ? like cheese alluded to, KD may end up the leading NBA scorer of all-time. Does his one year at UT put him on top of this list? If it's both excellance in college AND pros Earl and Layne did both with Layne having had the extra bennie of winning multiple NFL titles. How about Crenshaw? 3x All-America and 2 time Masters champ. Despite the PED stain, Clemens still has to get consideration. anyway, fun internet fodder. joeywa and Etex Horn 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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