The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Four Football legends named in College Football’s top 150 players of all time
01.09.2020 | Football
Texas placed four Longhorn Legends on ESPN’s list of the top 150 college football players of all time.
AUSTIN, Texas – Four Texas Football legends were named on ESPN's list of the top 150 college football players of all time, which was released on Thursday. The four Longhorns are Tommy Nobis (No. 54), Ricky Williams (No. 57), Bobby Layne (No. 75) and Vince Young (No. 81). ESPN's Thursday list featured players ranked No. 26-150. The top 25 players in college football history will be unveiled at halftime of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Monday, Jan. 13.
Nobis, a San Antonio, Texas native, was a two-time All-American (1964-65) and an All-Southwest Conference selection on three occasions (1963-65) during his career at Texas. He earned Team MVP honors in 1964 and 1965, and was named the Houston Post's SWC MVP Trophy winner for defense in 1964. Nobis won the 1965 Outland Trophy, which is awarded annually to the nation's most outstanding interior lineman, and finished seventh in the 1965 Heisman Trophy voting. He went on to be selected No. 1 overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 1966 NFL Draft and was the NFL Rookie of the Year that same season. The Longhorn Legend was inducted into the Texas Hall of Honor in 1976 and the National Football Foundation (NFF) College Football Hall of Fame in 1981.
Williams, a San Diego, California native, was a four-year starter at Texas who completed his collegiate career with 21 NCAA and 46 school records on his way to becoming the second Longhorn to win the Heisman Trophy. His UT career culminated in 1998 in his final home game when he broke a 60-yard touchdown run against Texas A&M to surpass Tony Dorsett's 22-year-old NCAA rushing record. Williams was a three-time first-team all-conference pick, and two-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year while rushing for 6,279 yards and 72 touchdowns at Texas. His 72 rushing touchdowns, 75 total touchdowns, 452 points, 33 games with a touchdown, 11 career 200-yard games and 6.2 yards per carry were all NCAA records at the time. He is one of only three players to win the Doak Walker Award twice, and the only one to do so while also winning the Heisman Trophy. Williams helped Texas claim the final SWC Championship in 1995 and the first-ever Big 12 title in 1996 before later being drafted in the first round (No. 5 overall) in the 1999 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. He was inducted into the Texas Hall of Honor in 2010 and the NFF College Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Layne, a Dallas, Texas native, was a consensus All-American at quarterback in 1947 and finished his career with 3,145 yards passing and 25 touchdowns. He twice finished among the top 10 in Heisman Trophy voting. Layne also competed with the Texas Baseball program, where he was a four-time All-SWC pitcher and helped lead the program to conference titles from 1946-48. He was later drafted in the first round of the 1948 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He played the 1948 season in Chicago, the 1949 season with the New York Bulldogs and then spent 1950-58 with the Detroit Lions. He led Detroit to NFL Championships in 1952 and 1953 and closed out his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1958-62). Layne was inducted in the Texas Hall of Honor in 1963, the NFL Hall of Fame in 1967 and the NFF College Football Hall of Fame in 1968.
Young, a Houston, Texas native, was a consensus first-team All-American, the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy and the winner of both the Davey O'Brien and Maxwell awards in 2005. That season, he was the unanimous Big 12 Player of the Year, a first-team All-Big 12 selection and led the Longhorns to a conference title and a perfect 13-0 season after winning the BCS National Championship Game against No. 1 USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl. The win capped a remarkable season that saw the team captain become the first player in FBS history to throw for more than 3,000 yards and rush for at least 1,000 in a single season. Young also led the Big 12 in passing efficiency (163.9) and became the first player in FBS history to rush for more than 250 yards and throw for more than 230 in a single game (vs. Oklahoma State). Young left Texas as the winningest quarterback in school history, compiling a 30-2 record (.938) as a starter, including victories in the final 20 games of his career. His .938 winning percentage was the sixth-best in NCAA history at the time. After just three seasons, Young became only the third quarterback in history to rush for more than 3,000 yards while passing for at least 6,000. He also left Texas as the career leader in total offense (9,167 yards) and touchdowns responsible for (81). Young went on to be drafted third overall by the Tennessee Titans in 2006. He claimed NFL Rookie of the Year honors and earned a spot in the Pro Bowl, becoming the first rookie quarterback ever to play in that game. He was inducted into the Texas Hall of Honor in 2015 and the NFF College Football Hall of Fame in 2019.