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11:10 am
March 9, 2016
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Campbell, Williams, Young and Royal chosen as most important figures in ‘Horns history.
A perpetual offseason topic is which figures would make the Mt. Rushmore for any given team, and CBS Sports has thrown in its Rushmore picks for the Texas Longhorns. The site chose three legendary former players, plus the coach who the ‘Horns stadium is named after.
.@Longhorn_FB’s Mt. Rushmore: The most important people in Longhorns history https://t.co/eghUcN2rDv pic.twitter.com/Xso66wNlTx
— CBS Sports CFB (@CBSSportsCFB) June 6, 2016
As you can see, the chosen figures are Earl Campbell, Ricky Williams, Vince Young and Darrell Royal. Let the debate begin.
Above, watch as Chip Patterson explains his choices for the mountain. Here’s a bit of what he wrote for each pick:
Earl Campbell, running back 1974-77: No one in Texas’ wildly successful history deserves the No. 1 spot more than Campbell, one of the most powerful and prolific running backs to ever play the game. In terms of prominence within the Longhorns community, it doesn’t hurt that Campbell, “The Tyler Rose,” remains an important figure in Austin and with Texas athletics along with having an award in his honor.
Ricky Williams, running back, 1995-98: Williams is more of my vintage. He’s a player who does not require documentaries or YouTube highlights for most reading this to remember his impact. What Williams brings to the table, as highlighted below, is the incredible combination of strength and breakaway speed that made him such a game-changer. A few steps, a quick shake, one broken tackle and then Williams was gone. In his last two seasons, Williams had 54 rushing touchdowns, many of them coming after long runs created by this incredible ability to spring to the second level and out into the open field.
Vince Young, quarterback, 2002-05: We will always remember Young and the Rose Bowl. With 467 yards of offense (267 passing, 200 rushing) in the 2006 BCS Championship Game and 372 yards of total offense in the 2005 Rose Bowl game, Longhorns fans will forever remember Young for how he finished seasons and capped his career.
Young was able to change the game and the course of Texas football history with his dual-threat ability during the 2005 season (and his 30-2 career record as a starter ain’t too shabby). He threw for 3,036 yards and ran for 1,050 yards during that year with 38 total touchdowns. While Colt McCoy would go on to break some of Young’s school records just a few years later, Young’s breakthrough meant far more to a Texas program that had been starving for a return to the top of the college football world.
Darrel Royal, coach, 1957-76: The man with his name on the dang stadium has to be on Mount Rushmore, right? Royal was the coach in Austin for two decades. He won three titles, never had a losing season and was lucky enough to be the first coach for Earl Campbell, also on this Rushmore, before he stepped down but continued his role as athletic director. Oh yeah, Royal was also Texas’ athletic director. His place on the Mount Rushmore is necessary not just because his name is on the stadium but because of what he gave to the school during one of the most magical eras in the football program’s storied history.
What do you think? Did Patterson get it right?
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