The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Longhorn legends: Football Hall of Honor inductee Randy McEachern
09.25.2007 | Texas Athletics
When it came time for Randy McEachern to make his college debut at quarterback, the stakes couldn't have been higher. It was fall of 1977 and No. 5 Texas was playing against No. 2 Oklahoma when both the starting quarterback and his backup went down with injuries in the game. Though McEachern entered the game as the third-string quarterback with two years of limited action, there was nothing limited in his performance, as he helped guide Texas to a come-from-behind victory, and a perfect regular season record of 11-0, before losing to Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl.
Because of his performance on the field, McEachern is one of seven former athletes to be inducted this year into the Texas Athletics' Longhorn Hall of Honor.
"When David [McWilliams] first called me and told me I was being inducted, I really didn't have time to think about it. He told me 'You know Randy, this is the highest honor you can get as an athlete at Texas,'" McEachern said. "After a week or two of thinking about it, it finally hit me about how great of an accomplishment it is. There are All-Americans and gold medal winners that have been inducted. Some of other honorees are professional athletes and then there are the coaches that were coaches of the year. To me that is pretty incredible, and I feel really grateful to be inducted."
After finishing his playing career and graduating with a degree in finance from The University, McEachern has been working and raising his family in Austin.
"I started this investment company, with another former football player, that manages bond portfolios for banks or institutions," McEachern explained. "We built that company of six employees in 1982, to about 70 employees, and we eventually sold it to Morgan Keegan out of Memphis, Tenn., where I still handle all my institutions under the umbrella of Morgan Keegan."
"I grew up in Houston because my dad was a coach there, but we used to come to Austin for the holidays to visit relatives. As a kid, I remember going to the Rooster Andrews store on Saturday, and ever since then I always wanted to live in Austin. My wife and I both stayed here after graduation, and we wanted to make a living and raise a family here."
Though it may be his name being enshrined during the football game against Texas Tech, McEachern knows that if it were not for his good friend Pat Kelly and a random Good Samaritan, he would not have been able to receive this prestigious honor today.
"Pat is special to me because he was involved in saving my life. We were working at the Austin High School football field when I was stung by some wasps and had an allergic reaction," McEachern recalls. "I was basically dying and Pat just started yelling for help. There was a girl out on the track that had just gotten certified for CPR, and she kept me alive until the ambulance got there. I had never been allergic before, and if they hadn't been there, I wouldn't be receiving this honor today."
Furthermore, McEachern is also thankful to the man who gave him the opportunity to be a Longhorn, former head coach Fred Akers.
"I wasn't headed here until the last minute. Texas initially wasn't interested, and no big colleges were talking to me," McEachern said. "At the time, Akers was here as the offensive coordinator for Coach Royal, and if it weren't for Fred, I wouldn't be here because he recruited me. When they offered the scholarship, I immediately accepted, so I am eternally grateful that coaches Royal and Akers gave me the opportunity to be a Longhorn."
Nonetheless, it would take two years of practice and persistence before McEachern was given the opportunity to command the offense. Though it may have been frustrating, there was something that kept Randy going -- something that also fuels many former football greats -- his love for the game.
"There was no question I had a passion for football. I did ever since I was a kid," McEachern said. "I knew that I wanted to play and it was one of those things that I dreamt about a lot. When I was a student at UT, it was my goal to play and to do my best. I never thought about what was down the road. If those honors came, that would be great, but they weren't my goals."
Earning a football scholarship was also a gateway for McEachern to earn a quality education, so McEachern was going to make the most out of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play for such a reputable school.
"Football was an avenue for me to get an education," McEachern said. "My parents didn't have a lot of money to send me to a major college, so it was important that I got a scholarship."
The T-Ring sported daily on his right ring finger is a reminder to McEachern of just how proud he is to be a Texas Longhorn.
"The T-Ring symbolizes everything -- not just athletics, but education," McEachern explained. "Coach Royal started the T-Ring as an incentive for every player to get his degree. You had to letter, and if you lettered, you had to graduate to get the ring. Coach Royal paid for the rings and mine is inscribed inside with a message from him. I wear this ring more than any other conference rings I have. It is really special to me."
Yet fans will always remember McEachern for what he pulled off as the third-string quarterback one fall day in 1977. Indeed, the Red River Shootout will also always play an important role in the memories McEachern has as a Longhorn.
"There are blurry parts to the game," McEachern reminisces, "but you can't forget the atmosphere of the Cotton Bowl. You can't forget all the pageantry and the feeling of going down the tunnel. When it happened, it happened so fast; I was not expecting to go in, but I was prepared. From the time I went out there until the end, it was a blur. I was so focused I just didn't think about it. At the end, I looked around and thought, 'What did I just do?' I started thinking about the game and then I realized 'Wow, this is big.'"
As a proud member of the 2007 inducting class, McEachern also will enter the Hall of Honor as a humbled inductee, realizing that all his accomplishments on the field were not just a one-man effort.
"I like to give credit to the other players. I had a great supporting cast, and I was just one of 22 players out on the field," McEachern said. "Any one of those guys could be inducted into the Hall of Honor, so I am so thankful for this honor."
