The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Where are they now?: Randy McEachern
08.16.2004 | Football
The two most defining moments in Randy McEachern's life both had to do with somebody being in the right place at the right time. The first meant the difference in the Longhorns winning or losing a football game against Oklahoma. The second was a matter of life or death -- McEachern's own.
Texas fans know about the first event. In the fall of 1977, McEachern was the Longhorn's third string quarterback when No. 5 ranked Texas squared off against the No. 2 Sooners in the annual October Cotton Bowl showdown. McEachern was called into service in the first quarter when starting quarterback Mark McBath suffered a broken ankle and main backup Jon Aune went down with an injured knee. McEachern had seen very little playing time in two seasons, but on that Saturday in Dallas he was up to the challenge. He directed Texas to a come-from-behind 13-6 victory and then led Texas to an 11-0 regular season record and No. 1 national ranking. A Cotton Bowl loss to Notre Dame cost the Horns a national title.
McEachern held on to the starting job in 1978 when Texas posted a 9-3 record and finished the year at No. 9 in the nation.
The second event occurred Aug. 5, 2003. McEachern, co-president of the Austin High School booster club, was working near the football practice field when he received three wasp stings on the back of his head. Seconds later he was on the ground unconscious and near death from an allergic reaction.
Fortunately, McEachern's good friend and former UT wide receiver Pat Kelly was there. He called for help on his cell phone and also flagged down Jana Kay who was on a nearby Town Lake jogging trail. Kay happened to be certified in CPR. Her initial rescue efforts and those of an EMS crew saved McEachern's life.
McEachern, his wife Jenna, a former Longhorns cheerleader; their daughter Bailey, a junior at Auburn; and son Hays, a May graduate of Austin High, will celebrate the incident this month.
"There is no doubt it was a life-changing experience," McEachern said. "It made us feel that things happen for a reason. There must be a reason I'm still here and that has become my outlook on life."
McEachern also uses his football career as a teaching tool for his children.
"We have talked a lot about my experience at UT, especially about the importance of being patient," said McEachern, a partner in an Austin institutional investment firm since graduating from UT.
The advice especially applies to Hays, who will be a walk-on quarterback at Oklahoma this fall. ("I know I'm going to get teased to death about that," McEachern said.)
"We have talked about the fact that whoever you are and wherever you go, you still have to compete," McEachern said. "Nothing is given to you, no matter who you are. It's tougher on a walk-on because you start out at the bottom. But everybody has a chance."
