The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
04.24.2003 | Football
As a youngster growing up in the shadows of Giants Stadium in New Jersey, Chris Simms developed a great appreciation of history and the people that made it. It didn't matter the era or event. If history was the topic, there was a sparkle in his eyes and a genuine interest in his voice.
In his four years in Austin, I can recall numerous occasions where the son of a Super Bowl legend perked up at the mere mention of a special moment in time. None is more vivid than humid evening in Dallas on July 26, 2001 as the junior quarterback stood within a screen pass of the site of John F. Kennedy's assassination. In the heart of Dealey Plaza and the state that had become his college home, Simms anxiously listened and inquired as a Dallas historian provided his insights of that tragic event in 1963.
A promising young quarterback who blossomed into a premier leader for the Longhorns, Simms enjoyed studying everything from world leaders to political icons to movie stars. American history, world events or pop culture, he found it all very fascinating. But it was the spirit and tradition at the core of sports, and most notably, the bloodlines that forever linked him to football, that was passion.
It was in football - the sport that earned the strong-armed and gifted lefty a reputation as not only a premier passer but also for his knowledge of even the most obscure moments or statistics in NFL history - that Simms made his mark.
"One of the first things I remember doing is a kid is watching, reading and talking about sports," Simms recalled. "My relatives and friends used to call me the 'wiz kid' because even when I was really young I could recite all of the stats and stories about everybody in the NFL or any other sport. I just couldn't get enough of it."
Simms made a name for himself as a high schooler, throwing for 7,055 yards and 63 TDs during his career and earning USA Today National Player of the Year and Parade All-America honors in 1998.
In four years at The University of Texas, the sensational southpaw registered a number of firsts in the Longhorns record book. He set UT records for single-season TD passes as a junior (22) and eclipsed that mark again in 2002 (26). Simms finished his career as the most accurate passer in school history with a 58.7% completion rate and a 138.4 pass efficiency rating.
Most importantly to Simms, however, he left his mark as the first starting quarterback to lead the Longhorns to back-to-back 10 (or more) win seasons and helped Texas post consecutive Top 10 finishes for the first time since 1977-78. He posted the second-most victories as a starting quarterback (26) in school history and was a perfect 15-0 at home.
When the NFL Draft kicks off this Saturday (11 a.m. CT/ESPN) from The Theatre at Madison Square Garden, a short drive from the Simms family home in Franklin Lakes, N.J., he will register another Longhorns first. It is then that the quarterback who threw for 7,097 yards (No. 2 on UT's career list) in four seasons will become the first UT signal caller since Rick McIvor in 1984 (third round/80th overall by St. Louis Cardinals) to be drafted by a NFL team.
That will make Simms' selection day a historical time and add another highlight to the top-rated class Mack Brown brought to Austin on Feb. 3, 1999 - just the coach's second year on the job.
"People mentioned that to me early in my career," Simms said. "To think of all the great players that Texas has sent to the NFL that they haven't had a quarterback in a long time. That's surprising to me. That doesn't take away from any of the tradition, but it's just a special opportunity that I have. I'm going to work as hard as possible to fill that void. Hopefully, I can make everyone in Austin proud."
Amazingly, since the NFL Draft was initiated in 1936, and despite having a player selected in a NFL-record 65 consecutive drafts, Texas has had only three quarterbacks chosen by NFL teams.
Prior to McIvor's selection in '84, the only Longhorns drafted by a NFL team to play quarterback came in 1948 when UT's consensus first-team All-American signal caller Bobby Layne was picked in the first round by the Chicago Bears and his backup, Paul Campbell, was a second-round selection of the Philadelphia Eagles. Layne, a future NFL and College Hall of Famer who finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy balloting in 1947, was involved in a whirlwind three-team deal (from Detroit through Pittsburgh) that sent him to the Bears with the third overall pick.
UT has had some history with former Longhorns quarterbacks either being drafted or playing in the NFL, but only four have either been called on draft day or taken a NFL snap. Along with McIvor, Layne and Campbell, Tommy Wade went undrafted before signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1964. UT's starting QB in 1962, who also played on the Horns' 1963 National Championship squad, Wade played for the Steelers from 1964-65.
McIvor is the most recent Longhorn to see action at quarterback in the NFL, serving as the backup and playing in four games behind All-Pro selection Neil Lomax as a Cardinals rookie in 1984. He also played in two games in 1985, but he only attempted four career passes without a completion. Wade completed 34-of-69 passes for 470 yards and two TDs in five NFL games over his two seasons.
Layne went on to lead the Detroit Lions to three NFL titles in the 1950s and threw for 26,768 and 196 TDs in 15 seasons. He was enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame in 1967 and the College Football Hall of Fame in '68.
Nine other former Longhorns quarterbacks either have been drafted or played in the NFL at another position. Eight of them were called on draft day (four projected as defensive backs and four projected as running backs) and one was signed as a free agent.
On Saturday, in the shadows of Giants Stadium, Simms will change all of that. The Longhorns 2002 Team MVP and first quarterback since Layne to lead UT to three consecutive wins against Texas A&M will have a sparkle in his eyes and a grin on his face as one of 32 NFL teams will make the historic announcement.
At a podium in The Theatre at Madison Square Garden and over the nation's airwaves on ESPN, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue will proclaim, "With the __________ pick of the 2003 NFL Draft, the __________ select Chris Simms from The University of Texas."
And on the first weekend of September 2003, Longhorns fans can cheer when, for the first time in many years, a Texas quarterback will proudly don an NFL jersey.
Dozens of Texas greats have caught passes, taken handoffs, cleared paths, intercepted passes, made tackles and sacked quarterbacks in recent years of NFL play. It's been decades since a Longhorns quarterback has completed a pass and Simms will have a chance to pave the way for a bright future of UT passers.
