The Longhorns that missed out on Texas vs. Texas A&M

Texas defensive back Michael Taaffe made a salient point the other day when he lamented the fact that players like Sam Ehlinger, Caden Sterns, and others who suited up for the Longhorns in a tumultuous span of UT football never got the chance to play the Texas A&M Aggies.

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What their record would have been is up for debate. It’s not like Texas was competitive for the majority of what RT Young properly termed as the Cold War. The Longhorns had four under .500 seasons between scheduled meetings with Texas A&M, one more than the three 10-win campaigns Texas put together. But rivalry games include variables that even the experts can’t explain or nail down.

All that written, a number of fantastic football players never had the chance to play for the burnt orange against the maroon and white. And those players are the bleed-burnt-orange types that would have given anything to knock off the in-state rival.

Here’s a player from the recruiting classes that never got to face the Aggies that should have gotten the opportunity to do so.

2012: DT Malcom Brown

The main character of a fierce recruiting battle between the Aggies and the Longhorns, Brown became the 2014 Big 12 defensive player of the year and a consensus All-American despite playing on three teams that combined to go 23-16.

2013: QB Tyrone Swoopes

Seeing the 18-Wheeler package deployed against Aggie defenses would have been one of the biggest redeeming qualities of an era where there was not much to write home about for Texas Longhorns football.

2014: RB D’Onta Foreman

Like Brown, Foreman was one of the best Texas football players of the 2010s, and there’s an argument that he may have been the best player of the forgettable era. In 2016, Texas’ offense rode Foreman to the tune of 323 carries for 2028 yards and 15 touchdowns. He finished his career with 13-straight 100-yard games and the 2016 Doak Walker Award. The 2016 season was painful for many reasons, but a chance to see Foreman take on the Aggies in his career year, especially one that would have included a home game versus A&M, would have been a great standout memory from a bad time for Texas.

2015: LB Malik Jefferson

Who else? Well, it could have been Kris Boyd, or Breckyn Hager, or even Holton Hill. But we celebrate Malikmas here at Inside Texas every December 19. Jefferson, an eventual All-American who bleeds burnt orange, would have been a sight to see especially when working against Aggie offenses led by Kyle Allen, Kyler Murray, Trevor Knight, Nick Starkel, or Kellen Mond. Kyle Field probably would not been have receptive to No. 46’s presence, but Jefferson is the type of player who would have relished that hate.

2016: Brandon Jones

If you’ve never actually seen TexAgs’ documentary on Jones, you are missing out. That’s not said with schadenfreude in mind. It’s a well-made film that does a fantastic job of telling the story of Jones’ upbringing, life challenges, and difficulty in making a decision in one of the most contested recruitments of the cycle. Ultimately, he picked the Longhorns and became a strong three-year contributor for Texas.

2017: QB Sam Ehlinger

Again, who else? Ehlinger was a Longhorn through and through, and opportunities against Texas A&M would have been nice for the lifelong Texas fan. Imagine Ehlinger ushering the Kevin Sumlin era to its proper end while… “welcoming” Jimbo Fisher to the Lone Star State.

2018: EDGE Joseph Ossai

Another competitive recruitment between the Aggies and the Longhorns, Oscar Giles, Todd Orlando, and Tom Herman did the thing and prevented Fisher and the late Terry Price from bringing in the perceived A&M lean. Remember the 2020 Oklahoma State game when the Longhorns won in spite of themselves due to Ossai’s efforts? Imagine Ossai doing the same against the Aggies in a year where they had their top campaign under Fisher.

2019: RB Roschon Johnson

Now with the class of 2019, there is one player remaining in David Gbenda who will have the chance to suit up in the rivalry. But most of the members of this signing class exhausted their eligibility last season.

Johnson would have understood the implications of this game, especially when considering that the 2023 season would have taken a win at College Station. No one would have played harder. Well, Jordan Whittington has something to say there. But that’s a one-two punch that would have relished silencing a Kyle Field crowd on the way to a conference championship appearance.

2020: RB Bijan Robinson

Texas’ best player of the 2020s deserved to make his mark against Texas A&M. The funny thing is, Robinson’s reputation as a better human than player would have likely made him a respectable character among the Texas A&M fan base every week of the year save for Thanksgiving. Robinson’s career at Texas ended with fans chanting his name in 2022 against the Baylor Bears on Senior Day. Imagine the same scene against Texas A&M. A shame of the highest order.

2021: WR Xavier Worthy

Now, Worthy could have technically played in this game if he had elected not to become a first-round selection in the 2024 draft. But, professional opportunities are tough to pass up, and this isn’t to fault him for that decision. He made the right one.

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But if Worthy was an option against the 2022 or 2023 Aggie defenses? There seems to be a positive trend of Californians performing against Texas A&M. Worthy would have been the latest.