The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
12.27.2017 | Football
Breckyn Hager will wear Nobis’ No. 60 against Missouri and the team will wear ‘60’ decals on the back of every helmet.
Two weeks after the passing of legendary Longhorn Tommy Nobis, the Texas Football program will honor him on Wednesday night against Missouri in the Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl. Nobis' No. 60 jersey is retired at UT, but comes out of retirement on rare occasion in order to recognize and honor him. On Tuesday afternoon, head coach Tom Herman spoke with Nobis' wife, Lynn, to request permission to have a Longhorn wear the No. 60 jersey in Wednesday's game.
"It was a sad day when we lost a Longhorn Legend in Tommy Nobis," Herman said. "There will never be a man that embodies the pride, passion and toughness of a Texas Football player more than Tommy Nobis. We knew our team wanted to honor him in the Texas Bowl and we talked to his wife Lynn about that."
Breckyn Hager, whose father Britt donned the No. 60 jersey in honor of Nobis from 1984-88 during his All-American career, will honor Nobis and his family by wearing No. 60 in Wednesday night's Texas Bowl. The program will also wear "60" decals on the back of every helmet.
"It's going to be a special night with our guys wearing a number 60 helmet decal and having a Longhorn legacy player like Breckyn, whose father Britt wore the number during his All-American career, in a 60 jersey for this game," Herman continued. "We join everyone in paying tribute to a beloved Longhorn and a great man."
"It is a huge honor to have the chance to wear Tommy Nobis' number 60 on Wednesday night," Hager said after finding out. "Growing up, my dad constantly talked about Nobis being the standard of Texas Football, and also the importance of the 60 jersey that he wore so proudly throughout his career. Mr. Nobis set the standard at The University of Texas and I am truly honored to have the chance to wear it in honor of him and his family during the Texas Bowl."
Derrick Johnson was the last Longhorn to wear Nobis' No. 60 in a game, as he did so on Senior Night in a 2004 victory over Texas A&M. Dusty Renfro wore it in the 1999 Cotton Bowl against Mississippi State , while Brian Jones (1989-90), Britt Hager (1984-88), Jeff Leiding (1981-83) and Robin Sendlein (1978-80) have worn it for full seasons in honor of Nobis.
"There's not a more iconic Longhorn than Tommy Nobis," Johnson said. "I wanted to pay tribute to him and what he meant not only to our program but College Football and the NFL. I felt so honored to wear his number 60 on senior night at DKR and am truly blessed that I was able to get to know him. He was a special player and an amazing man."
Nobis played for the Longhorns from 1963-65 and was inducted into the Longhorn Men's Hall of Honor in 1976. His No. 60 is retired by both The University of Texas and the Atlanta Falcons, as he joins Earl Campbell, Bobby Layne, Ricky Williams, Vince Young and Colt McCoy as the only Longhorns to have their jerseys retired at UT. He was Texas' first-ever No. 1 overall draft pick.
At Texas, Nobis was an offensive guard and linebacker on the 1963 Longhorn team which claimed UT's first national championship. He went on to earn every honor available to a lineman during the next two seasons, even though a knee injury would slow him down in 1965. He won the Maxwell Award as the nation's best player and the Outland Trophy as the nation's best lineman. He was a two-time All-American (1964-65) and a three-time All-Southwest Conference honoree (1963-65).
In eleven professional seasons, he led the Falcons in tackles nine times, went to five Pro Bowls (one in 1972 after two knee surgeries), was named All-Pro twice and was chosen for the NFL's "All-Decade Team" for the 1960s despite playing on a team that won only 16 games in their first five years of existence. As the first member of the Atlanta Falcons, he gained the nickname of "Mr. Falcon." In his first season, he was not only chosen the NFL Rookie of the Year and voted to the Pro Bowl, but amassed 294 tackles, which still stands as an NFL record.
After his playing days, Nobis remained loyal to the Falcons, working in the front office for nearly 40 years after his 11-year playing career.
Nobis is a member of the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame, in addition to the Longhorn Men's Hall of Honor. He is also in the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame and the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame.
