Three former Longhorns underscore the heartbreak, resilience, and changing landscape of college football

The news over the weekend of two former Longhorns, DeMarvion Overshown and Jonathon Brooks, suffering season-ending knee injuries was heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, and sad. There’s no other way to put it. For many Texas fans, how Longhorns perform in the NFL is simply an extension of their fandom, foregoing a favorite pro team so they can cheer for Longhorns without worrying about crossing professional rivalry lines. While it pales in comparison to how the two players are feeling, the gut punch Texas fans feel for their former stars shows how strong the bond between fan and player is—a bond that might not last forever in college football.

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For Overshown, he’s been the lone bright spot in what’s been an otherwise dark season in Dallas (minus the glare of the sun through the JerryWorld window) for the Cowboys. D-Mo missed his rookie year after a promising preseason due to a torn ACL, and now he’s torn multiple ligaments in the other knee. Any injury that puts an athlete’s potential in doubt is crushing. But for Overshown, it feels especially so after the Arp, Texas, native rehabilitated his first injury to become the best version of himself and put together an incredible season. Overshown electrified audiences with his energy and playmaking, garnering national attention on Thanksgiving Day with an incredible pick-six. He had finally put it all together—the athleticism combined with his nose for the football.

Until his last year in Austin, Overshown was a raw ball of clay that occasionally flashed but never fully realized his potential. What he did always have was passion and the ability to play with unrelenting joy, even when times were bleak in Austin. That joy is what makes him D-Mo. But what I remember about him most fondly is how he undoubtedly left Texas in a much better place than when he arrived in 2018.

Brooks was a Longhorn fan favorite for a different reason. He was the old-school, “wait your turn” type of guy who is rarely found in college football anymore. Brooks flashed his potential a few times in ‘21 and ‘22 but patiently waited behind Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson. He broke out with a strong junior season in 2023 (1,339 yards and 10 touchdowns). Before he was a household name, Brooks stayed with Steve Sarkisian’s program despite personal tragedy in the loss of his father, Skip, and despite the tempting transfer portal, which would have gladly taken him away from Texas had he let it.

Brooks tore his ACL in Fort Worth last year at the end of an impressive performance but still took the field for Texas during Victory Formation in the Big 12 Championship. It was an incredible moment for him and Texas fans, showing what Brooks was made of—that he could even suit up a few weeks after reconstructive knee surgery. Despite the injury, Brooks bet on himself and became the first running back taken in the NFL Draft. Along with fellow Longhorn Ja’Tavion Sanders, Brooks provided a much-needed injection of life into the decaying Carolina Panthers franchise. Panthers and Texas fans waited all season to see Brooks return to the field with his patient running style, reminiscent of Arian Foster. Then on Sunday, after just nine carries and three games, Brooks’ season is over due to another torn ACL in the same knee.

It’s a brutal reminder of how harsh this game can be. While fans witness the fulfillment of dreams, they also see the shadows that can fall over said dreams. As for Overshown and Brooks have the support of their organizations, their communities, and Texas fans who hope for their success. With resilient individuals and incredible athletes like these two, they will undoubtedly overcome. And when they triumph over this adversity, the collective pride will far outweigh the current sting of sadness.

I can’t help but compare the heartache over Overshown and Brooks to the news of Maalik Murphy hitting the portal after one season at Duke. The former Longhorns quarterback is heading to his third school in three years. And how different is that journey from the ones Overshown and Brooks had at Texas? It’s a stark contrast between old-school and new-school relationships with players and fans, laid bare for all to see. Murphy won important games for Texas, had a solid season at Duke, and now moves on. I hope he succeeds wherever he goes. But at the end of his college career, what fanbase claims him? If or when he makes it to the NFL, will any collegiate fanbase feel his highs and lows alongside him? Maybe it doesn’t matter, but the absence of that connection feels stark.

The fans will adjust. If mercenaries win championships, fans will convince themselves it’s just as meaningful as if those who stayed had done it. And for players like Murphy, if they are developed and paid, that might outweigh a connection with a fan base. But the sport may lose something vital.

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The pain Longhorn fans feel for Overshown and Brooks strikes a deeply human chord. After all they gave to this team and fan base, how could those feelings not be there? I just fear a day when all of these emotions are gone and replaced with something colder.