Best of the Best - Part II

[caption id="attachment_32731" align="alignleft" width="300"] Vince Young. (Texas)[/caption] As some of you know, this will be my last post at Inside Texas for some time. Listen to my most recent podcast if you’re interested why (spoiler alert: it’s nothing negative, just more time for family and ministry). Part I of this two-part series was on the top five players I ever competed against. Though I enjoyed the challenge, I’m glad my days of battling those five on the football field are over. They all were and still are true gladiators. Part II is on the Top 5 players I had the privilege of competing alongside. I think it’s quite the appropriate topic for me to finish on: my teammates. I owe them so much; together we made memories that will last a lifetime. As I wrote in my previous post, I refuse to rank my own teammates because each one of them were truly valuable. Some of us played bigger roles than others, but that doesn’t mean each position, person, and contribution weren’t a necessary part of our success as a whole. Winning championships takes a colossal effort from every member of the family. Scout team heroes aren’t lauded in the media as starting QBs are, and never will be. (I know, because I too paid my dues and contributed on scout team). But anyone who’s competed on the highest level knows how important a realistic look from the scout team is. So, I won’t rank these five players in any order. I’ll simply list them here in no certain order — and to be honest, making this list was really easy. I just thought about who the players were I absolutely couldn’t leave out. Because I’m an offensive guy (and an offensive linemen, specifically) I skewed towards that side of the ball and guys I competed against in the defensive front seven. Remember, this is subjective because it’s my list and there’s only five slots. There are way too many of my deserving teammates I simply couldn’t include because of space. Let me know who else you think belongs here, and until next time: thanks for reading. Vince Young This one goes without saying. How could I not include VY? I still remember sitting outside the locker room after the Rose Bowl against USC ended. I was slightly in shock, trying to fully process the magnitude of what I witnessed. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fully aware it was a football game and not the tearing down of the Berlin Wall. But it was the greatest athletic feat I had ever seen anyone perform. Vince took over, on the biggest stage, (and the crazy part) in a way you’d fully expect Vince to do. He was clutch. Though we only had one season together, I was taking in everything that happened in 2005. I never saw VY nervous — not once. Was he focused? Yes, but all the while dancing and laughing in the locker room during pre-game warmup. One thing Mack Brown told me on my official visit I’ll never forget, “He never gets tired. … He’ll come off the field after a long run and Vince will never be out of breath.” That stuck with me, and I noticed the same thing once I got on campus. Searching “cool, calm, and collected” on Google should generate a picture of Vince Young playing football. He was truly a once in a generation quarterback. Who knew Texas had another once-in-a-generation quarterback waiting in the wings? Colt McCoy Colt was the winningest QB in college football history when he finished his career, and he deserves to be on every shortlist that’s ever made about the Texas Longhorns. There’s a reason the #12 was retired — the program wants that number to represent only one player, as long as Texas football is played. It’s quite a statement. [caption id="attachment_23421" align="alignright" width="200"] Colt McCoy. (Will Gallagher/IT)[/caption] What I’ll remember most about Colt at Texas are the moments nobody saw. It’s easy to find players with talent, what’s hard to find is to talent matched with a mind and will to do whatever it takes to win. From the moment Colt arrived on campus he began to do all the little things not required of him. He was a person dead set on making the most of his opportunity at Texas, and he did. While I was finishing my workouts as soon as possible, missing home, and trying to figure out how I’d make it through my first year, Colt was undergoing the very same training Peyton Manning completed his freshman year in college — seriously. I’m trying to convey to you the type of mature mindset the man had from the beginning. He watched film before classes and after practice, he was constantly in the training room taking care of his body. You might think Colt was going above and beyond the call of duty; in fact, that mentality and lifestyle is just what it takes. That type of effort should be normal. Our team was full of players like that in 2005 — it was as if those older players lived in the field house. Colt picked up the pattern much earlier than I did and lead by example the rest of our careers. Where would Texas be without leaders who didn’t just talk the talk, but walked the walk? Brian Orakpo Speaking of leaders, I attribute nearly all of our success in the 2008 season to Brain Orakpo. He was the right man, doing the right thing, at the right time; the rest of the team followed his lead. In the offseason coming off our victory in the 2007 Holiday Bowl, we knew we had a chance to be special. We also knew we needed new leaders. It’s like that every offseason; guys leave, someone has to step up and take their place. Most often, everyone on the team knows exactly who the alpha dog (or dogs) is. It’s felt. No one has to take a vote or say a word. In 2008, it was the rare combination of power and speed known as “Rak." Orakpo had consistently dominated on the field, earned the respect of the team over his career, and every one knew he was the man to lead. Even more importantly, Rak stepped up and owned the role. One morning during offseason workouts, coach Madden audible’d our regularly scheduled exercise to a grueling punishment run known as “I Love Texas.” The reason: while the whole team was doing up-downs a few players were hiding, not doing anything. That obviously wasn’t our standard and Mad Dog couldn’t let it happen, so “I Love Texas” it was. As we all ran down to the game field in DKR dreading what was about to happen, a scuffle broke out. It was Rak fighting one of his best friends on the team; the same friend had been one of the players hiding from the up-downs. Once we got down to the field, Rak got out in front of the whole team and basically said, “Never again.” He also added that if we didn’t like it we could “come and see him.” No one did. The leadership Orakpo showed in that moment brought us together as a team, and set us on a course within a hair’s breadth of playing for the national championship. (Oh, wait… 45-35 — we earned shot at the national championship by at least 10 points, my mistake.) Roy Miller [caption id="attachment_32732" align="alignleft" width="300"] Roy Miller TexasSports.com)[/caption] In a way, I think Roy may be most deserving of being on my list. I had to battle him every practice of my career (until he graduated), and I never would have become the player I eventually did without him. My offensive line coach described Roy as having flames shooting out behind him before every snap. He was also dubbed Roy a “rolling ball of butcher knives,” it was a fitting description. He played every snap with the highest intensity and was by default spring-loaded with a hair trigger. The slightest hesitation and Miller would be in the backfield with an offensive lineman trying to grab one of his shoe strings. Miller didn’t receive as much of the spotlight as he might have deserved simply because of other stars on our defense. It doesn’t take long to build an impressive list. In 2008, Roy’s senior year, we also had: Brian Orakpo, Sergio Kindle, Lamarr Houston, Earl Thomas, Aaron Williams, Henry Melton, Chykie Brown, Roddrick Muckelroy, Curtis Brown, and Sam Acho — all of whom would be drafted within the next three offseasons. Although Rak deservingly became one of ESPN’s favorite stories in ‘08, it was Roy who was named defensive MVP of the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State. He demolished the Buckeyes poor freshmen center. The guy was severely overmatched by Roy from the first snap, who had a career day. I myself don’t know what kind of player I would become without having Roy to compete with on a daily basis. A wise man once said, “as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Justin Blalock I don’t know why everyone called Blalock “Big Bank.” I assume it was because his dominance on the field meant he’d make “big bank” in the NFL someday, which he did. Blalock was 4x First-team All-Big 12 (’03-06’), the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year (2006), and a Consensus All-American. Basically, he was money every time he stepped on the field. That’s why the Atlanta Falcons drafted him 39th overall in the 2007 draft, where he played until retiring in July of 2015. Another nickname Blalock had, which is one I personally remember him for, was “The Dancing Bear.” I can still hear coach McWhorter say it in my mind as if we’re all back together watching film. Blalock was built like a bear, consistently playing somewhere over 320 pounds, but he also had incredible feet. You probably don’t think of footwork when you think of offensive linemen, but it’s one of the most crucial aspects of the position. Pass protection especially is won with a lineman’s hands and feet. It doesn’t matter how big linemen are if they’re also fat and slow, being big and slow means sacks and injuries for your QB. [caption id="attachment_32733" align="alignright" width="300"] Justin Blalock (IT)[/caption] The pass pro/pass rush drill we ran against our defensive linemen in practice made this evident. First of all, the defense always has the advantage in this drill because they only have one objective: get to the QB. In a game, the defense doesn’t know what’s happening before the ball is snapped. Even if they did, defensive players have various keys to read and responsibilities to take care of as well (gaps, containment, etc.). It’s almost never as simple as, “Just get the QB and make a play.” In this drill, however, the defense plays by none of their usual rules. It’s normal to see offensive and defensive linemen split wins nearly evenly. In a game, getting a sack every other play would make the defense the greatest of all time — and the offense terrible. I explain all of this to tell you something very specific about Blalock. I never saw him lose in the above described drill. Not once. It’s true he was senior who had honed his craft for many years. Other linemen told me Blalock had never lost in pass pro drill, ever. I can’t verify the latter, but Big Bank was as dominant an offensive lineman as I’ve ever seen. I benefitted much from being around and watching him play. He was constantly putting on a clinic.