The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
08.26.2019 | Football, T-Association
Read the 11th in a 14-part series on the Hall of Honor class of 2019.
This is the 11th of a 14-part series celebrating the Hall of Honor class of 2019. In these first-person vignettes, each inductee shares his/her thoughts on 'What it means to be a Longhorn.' Thirteen former University of Texas student-athletes and one former UT System administrator will be inducted on Friday, Aug. 30 into the Hall of Honor. Tickets for the Hall of Honor banquet are available at TexasSports.com/tickets.
Derrick Johnson Hall of Honor bio
When I was a kid, I always liked that burnt orange of the Texas Longhorns. There was something special about it. I watched the Longhorns play all the time on TV, guys like Ricky Williams, Priest Holmes and Kwame Cavil, who was a guy that went to the same high school as I did. Watching those guys and seeing them on TV, Texas became a favorite of mine before recruiting even started.
Mack Brown was what sealed it for me. He was a big, big key to why I went to Texas. There's something about the way he speaks with parents, knowing that their kid, really their baby, is going off to college. He helped parents feel comfortable sending their kids to The University of Texas, letting them know that their son would be taken care of and protected and that he would be a father to them while at school. That meant a lot to me, especially coming from a single-parent home. My mom liked him so much and that made the decision even easier.
Another plus was having that pride, that aura about yourself saying, "Hey, I go to The University of Texas." Texas was where you wanted to go. I never knew just how special it would end up being, wearing that burnt orange and having that Longhorn on the side of your helmet.
Being on the field as a freshman, turning as many heads as I did, that made it so much better for me. I didn't expect to play my freshman year. We had three senior linebackers, so I thought, "Okay, after they leave, I can get going." But I did so well early and everyone was so surprised, the coaches actually ran a 3-4 scheme against Texas Tech and Oklahoma, just so I could start. It was cool knowing that the coaches believed so strongly in me early on during my time at Texas.
We had great camaraderie on those teams, building to a point where we beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl my final year, going 11-1 on the season. That whole year was great, including being able to represent Texas by winning the Dick Butkus Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. Those were goals I had set for myself at the beginning of the year.
It all went back to when we were just starting out in the dorm. Everybody's going to class and everybody's struggling with two-a-days, football practice and lifting weights, it was a grind and I enjoyed that. I enjoyed that because I was with my guys. I was with Cedric Benson. I was with Cedric Griffin. I was with Michael Huff. We had pretty big-time guys.
It was cool starting out with Cedric Benson. We were the two Parade All-Americans. I was the big name on defense, and he was the big name on offense in our recruiting class. But he came from a different life than I did. He had played minor league baseball, so he had a little money. He pulled up in a green Escalade and I'm like, "Man, this is different. Okay." But we quickly gained respect for one another. It was great to compete with him and compete with the other guys. As we always say, "Iron sharpens iron."
That's what being a Longhorn is, having that sense of respect. It makes you feel a little bit taller knowing that you went to The University of Texas. It's an honor and a privilege to be a Longhorn and a source of pride.
I'm always grateful for my school, athletically and academically. I'm grateful to have put on that burnt orange. It's where I learned how to be a professional, on and off the field. UT is not just a regular school, this is a school that's respected around the world.
