Sundays Are Burnt Orange Again: The Next Phase of Longhorns in the NFL

During the dark ages, there was a severe moment of juxtaposition every season which depressed the hell out of me. It was just as depressing as Texas losing recruits to their rivals or out of state ransackers like Urban Meyer and Nick Saban.

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The trend it represented also guaranteed Texas would continue to lose out on top talent. The melancholy moment I’m referring to happened during Red River and the timeout video segment which showed just how bleak things had gotten for “Longhorns in the NFL.”

The Sooners would also show their players in the pros during the same timeout. When things were good in Norman, they had multiple starting quarterbacks, big time wide receivers, and starters from the Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley eras everywhere.

But in the era between Jamaal Charles and Derrick Johnson‘s retirement and now, if you weren’t Earl Thomas or a specialist like Michael Dickson or (REDACTED), things were bleak. Texas players weren’t being valued by the 32 franchises because Longhorns weren’t being developed properly in Austin. Then, players who might have had solid NFL careers, like Sam Ehlinger, were doomed by goofy things like Jeff Saturday becoming their interim head coach during the one window they were given the car keys.

I’ve said before, my NFL fandom is just an extension of my Texas fandom. I cheer for Texas players and my fantasy team. I’m a proud NFL mercenary. 

So thank goodness, the famine is over. The tables look like they might even turn on our Sooner neighbors’ heads in the coming years. As Steve Sarkisian continues to put talent into the pros and the crimson and cream toil near the bottom of the SEC, their fans will be the ones who hang their heads at the Cotton Bowl during the “Sooners in the NFL” segment.

Texas had 11 players drafted in the 2024 draft and will almost certainly match or exceed that this year. As Walter tells The Dude in The Big Lebowski, “our troubles are over, Dude.” Our Eric Nahlin recently penned an excellent article on how many Texas players will be drafted from the Texas 2023 class, but I wanted to take my thoughts on the Longhorns in the NFL in a different direction.

Great NFL players from your alma mater allow you to thump your chest at other fanbases. Ex-Horns starring on Sundays gives the fanbase something, a cherry on top.

It’s an extra layer of superiority added onto your program’s win/loss column. Alabama, LSU, Georgia, and Ohio State have had the luxury for over a decade as their ex-athletes litter the pros in the form of star players. It’s also a security blanket if your program falls on hard times. Just look at how Texas Tech rightfully reps Patrick Mahomes, who while spectacular in college, never won a bowl game. Michigan fans didn’t want Tom Brady to start for their team while he was in college. Now they worship him.

Longhorn fans are about to be able to have both the success under Sark and the beating of the chest about their players in the pros. But your ex-players in the pros need to wear specific hats. Multiple boxes can be checked as far as what parts the former Longhorns play. 

Let’s look at what NFL roles would be beneficial to Texas fans as they look to expand their domination across Sundays.

The Local Hero

One thing Texas hasn’t had since Earl Campbell is a “local star.” Meaning a player who goes from Austin to Houston or Dallas and becomes a full on Lone Star State legend.

I’m still hopeful former Longhorn linebacker DeMarvion Overshown can return from his knee injury and become the best Longhorn turned Cowboy player in some time. But Texas and the two pro franchises need to team up more often. This year, the Cowboys need a wide receiver and Matthew Golden will be available. The Texans desperately need a franchise left tackle and Kelvin Banks inexplicably might be there. 

Looking further down the line, Texas has recruited Dallas and Houston incredibly under Sark, and getting a local product home will pay dividends. Get Colin Simmons or Anthony Hill on their hometown Cowboys with the aforementioned Overshown and Micah Parsons.

The “I Told You So!” Guy

This is the player who the college fanbase knew was amazing but was slept on until they got to the pros. 

Once they got to the NFL, everyone else saw it too and asked, “Where was this guy in Austin?” To which we respond, they’ve been there all along, making plays. Poona Ford and Adrian Phillips went undrafted but were recent Texas examples, as was Quandre Diggs in the sixth round. Barryn Sorrell and Gunnar Helm will be those guys in the current draft. 

Players on the current Texas roster who I don’t expect to be drafted high but could fit this bill are DeAndre Moore Jr., who constantly gets open and will do so in the NFL, and Quintrevion Wisner, who can practically do everything on offense and special teams.

The Superstar

Texas has produced only five members NFL Hall of Fame, with one awaiting induction. Four are players and two were coaches/executives.

The list is Tom Landry, Tex Schramm, Bobby Layne, Bobby Dillon, Steve McMichael, and Earl Campbell. I don’t understand why Ricky Williams and Priest Holmes aren’t in, but alas. Derrick Johnson and Earl Thomas will hopefully make it to Canton eventually, but it will be a little while. 

That being said, besides Campbell in a different era, Texas has never had a true icon in the NFL on the scale of a Brady or Mahomes. In the NBA, Texas has had it with Kevin Durant. He was a player so famous on an almost global scale that they’re synonymous with the biggest celebrities of the world. 

That will change in the next five years. 

No, I’m sadly not talking about Bert Auburn. I’m speaking of the player with whom Sarkisian has no interest in hedging any bets on just how great he will be.

I wrote in January that the Arch Manning hype train will be like nothing Texas fans have ever seen. Eric Nahlin wrote recently that he’s never been more confident in a football player than he is in Manning. But, that train won’t stop in Austin. Hopefully Manning starts for Texas for two years. I expect he will, as his family understands the stakes attached to career reps in college translating to NFL longevity. 

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The train will continue to roll after it leaves Austin, possibly for decades. It will take far more than Austin and the college football world by storm. Manning, like Durant, might be the rare athlete from Texas who actually becomes bigger than the Longhorn logo. Even so, he will hopefully give Longhorn fans lots of opportunities to beat their chest, in Austin and beyond.