The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Remembering Ricky: Major Applewhite
03.28.2012 | Football
March 28, 2012
Major Applewhite played quarterback at Texas from 1998-2001. The Longhorns' team captain in 2001, Applewhite helped Texas to four straight bowl games (1999 and 2000 Cotton Bowls/2000 and 2001 Holiday Bowls) and posted a 22-8 record as a starter. He capped his career by throwing for a UT record 473 yards and a Longhorn-bowl-game best four TDs en route to Offensive MVP honors in a 47-43 victory over No. 20 Washington in the 2001 Holiday Bowl. The 1999 co-Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year set then-UT records for career (8,353) and season (3,357/1999) passing yards, as well as career TD passes (60). He threw for 2,453 yards and 18 TDs, UT freshman records at the time, in claiming Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors in 1998. He sat down with MB-TF.com and shared some memories of his days playing with Ricky.
When I think about Ricky, the first thing I think about is obviously the football exploits, but then you start to realize that there is a little bit more there than just the football; a deep person and a deep thinker. He has a good heart.
Ricky was a great teammate. He was very quiet from the standpoint that a lot of guys in the locker room are opinionated in terms of play calling, personnel and all that. Everyone has their opinion, but that was not Ricky's deal. He was a little bit more focused and centered on himself and his improvement. The thing I liked about him is he came off of baseball after that long break and was right back with his teammates. He had a lot going on that summer in terms of Heisman hype and all the photo shoots and everything. He did a good job of trying to keep it in perspective for himself throughout the year. [He was a ]great teammate and a smart football player, too. A really smart football player.
I think more than anything [I liked] his attitude once he had the ball. I think every back has to have that mentality if they want to be a great back. He had that predator mentality rather than prey. When he got the ball, he sought people out. There were times where I saw from the backfield a certain cut that could be made, but he decided to go over people. Obviously, [he was successful because of] his size, his power, his explosiveness, his vision - all those things combined. He was often listed at 225, but I remember vividly just looking at scales [back then] that he played his senior season around 235-240 most of the year. So he was a big, fast back that is just rare to have in college football. Obviously, the legacy is going to be about the on-field stuff. The yardage, breaking the national rushing record, the Heisman trophy; all of those things are going to be the things that backs coming onto campus recognize, "Alright, this is my standard,. This is what I have to live up to. I've got to live up to Earl. I've got to live up to Ricky."
The one thing I look at what Ricky did is he took his football [and] he took his platform and he did what he wanted to do with it. I think he has a caring side to him. I think there is an aspect of him that he has an awareness about him that he is aware about other people and he is not just self-centered and climbing that ladder, so to speak. I think there is a kind side to him, and I think that's the side that you really need to have when you play football now. You need to be a citizen. You need to understand that there are a lot of people that affect your life and you affect theirs. I think that is where he is headed, and I am excited and happy for him.
[One memory of Ricky that I have is playing against] Mississippi State. We played them in '98 in his Heisman campaign year. He had already won the Heisman, so there was a lot of hype going into that game. Mississippi State was a great football team. They lost by six points to Tennessee and lost the chance to go to the National Championship, so they were ticked off. They came to the Cotton Bowl and there was a lot of jawing going on back and forth at the bowl site. Some defensive backs were talking to Ricky and mimicking his voice, making fun of him. I just remember thinking that they haven't played against the guy yet. I remember we got down on the goal line opposite the tunnel. We were off set and running an isolation play. I saw one of the safeties that had done all the jawing. He jumps into the hole and Ricky lowers his hat, and I think the guy's feet were at about the one and a half [yard line] and his butt hit about a yard deep into the end zone. [Watch a video of the play that Major Applewhite is describing.] I go home back to Baton Rouge and my family was watching [a replay of] the game and celebrating the fact that we won, and the shot cuts to the sideline and that same guy is on the sideline now with a bag of ice on his neck. The very next series, [Ricky] catches a ball in the flat and another cornerback that was chirping, he gets the same punishment. There are two guys now on the sideline with ice on their neck. They are talking to each other and you know what the conversation is about. There are a lot of times like that. I have seen a lot of DB's after I have handed the ball off, [Ricky] gets to that second level and you see this guy mysteriously slip.
