When Mack Brown was hired by the Texas Longhorns on December 4th, 1997, he inherited a program in complete disarray under John Mackovic. Brown immediately implemented a new strategy for the fallen perennial powerhouse — one built around recruiting.
Mack has been able to execute that strategy successfully through his 13 years on the 40 Acres. Unfortunately for Texas, it has resulted in just two Big 12 championships and one epic 2005 national championship.
That isn’t to say some fine collegiate quarterbacks haven’t played for the University of Texas since 1997. In fact, two UT quarterbacks stand out immensely in the BCS era.
#6 Garrett Gilbert
(2010-Present)
- Record as a starter: 4-4
- Statistics: 2,098 yds, 8 TD, 13 INT
UT offensive coordinator Greg Davis joked that he had waited his entire coaching career for a player like Gilbert. Well, eight games into the 2010 season, it’s an absolute abortion. Texas fell out of the top 25 for the first time since 1998, and its streak of 9-plus wins per season since 1998 is likely to come to an end.
#5 Chance Mock
(2001-2004)
- Record as a starter: 4-2
- Statistics: 1,613 yds, 17 TD, 2 INT
Mock was another highly touted recruit brought to the 40 Acres: Parade All-American, top 10 on the Austin American-Statesman Fab 55. He finally earned the starting job after backing up Applewhite and Simms from 2001 to 2002. Unfortunately for Mock, his backup happened to be Vince Young, and his reign as UT starter lasted just six games.
#4 Chris Simms
(1999-2002)
- Record as a starter: 26-6
- Statistics: 7,094 yds, 58 TD, 31 INT
Chris Simms was Mack Brown’s first crown jewel of the new recruiting strategy. Simms originally committed to the University of Tennessee in his senior year of high school, hoping to follow in the footsteps of Volunteer legend Peyton Manning. Brown, however, was able to change Simms’ mind, setting forth a series of events that — for better or worse — changed the landscape of the Longhorns. Simms was never able to beat Oklahoma, nor overcome critical mistakes in the 2001 Big 12 Championship game, but he was a fantastic Longhorn quarterback who won 26 games as a starter.
#3 Major Applewhite
(1998-2001)
- Record as a starter: 22-8
- Statistics: 8,353 yds, 60 TD, 28 INT | 3 rushing TD
The Major was one of the most popular quarterbacks to ever wear burnt orange. He was unceremoniously benched for Chris Simms in 2000, and didn’t see the field for any serious snaps until the 2001 Big 12 Championship game, where he nearly pulled off an epic comeback that would have sent the Longhorns to Pasadena to face #1 Miami for the national title. Unfortunately, Applewhite couldn’t overcome Simms’ four turnovers, and Texas was sent to the Holiday Bowl. There, the Major set a UT record for passing yards in a game and engineered a thrilling comeback victory over the Huskies to cap a prestigious Texas career.
#2 Colt McCoy
(2006-2009)
- Record as a starter: 45-7
- Statistics: 13,253 yds, 112 TD, 45 INT | 1,589 yds, 20 TD
Colt McCoy made his way to the 40 Acres as an unheralded recruit in 2005. How little the Longhorn faithful knew about what McCoy would eventually become: 3-1 as a starter in bowls, dozens of UT records, back-to-back Walter Camp Player of the Year awards, the 2009 Maxwell Award, 2008 Heisman runner-up, the highest single-season completion percentage, the most wins by an FBS quarterback, and many other accolades.
Quite a career for a quarterback who had to follow in the footsteps of the BCS era’s best player.
#1 Vince Young
(2003-2005)
- Record as a starter: 30-2
- Statistics: 6,040 yds, 44 TD, 28 INT | 3,127 yds, 37 TD
The consensus #1 recruit in the country in 2001 began his Longhorns career with enormous expectations — expectations the young Vince Young was unable to deliver on, at first.
That all changed after the 2004 Red River Shootout loss to Oklahoma. That would be the last time Vince Young tasted defeat in college football. Young ran off 21 straight victories, culminating in arguably the best individual performance in college football history — knocking off the two-time defending national champion USC Trojans.
Young’s accolades include two Rose Bowl MVPs, 2005 All-American, the Davey O’Brien National QB of the Year, the Maxwell Award, Heisman runner-up, and the most total yards ever in a BCS National Championship game.
Vince Young is not only the greatest QB of the Mack Brown era — he is the greatest quarterback to ever wear burnt orange.
