Sloan Thomas

Kwame Cavil

Kareem Rush (Huh?)

I know...this is a blog about former Longhorn players. So what is Kareem Rush doing here? Well...he inadvertently jump-started my dormant card collecting habit when I pulled this card out of a repack from a local Fred's store. You see, for the longest time I had given up on this hobby. I had never pulled a hit of any kind and was frankly really disillusioned. But when I spied this baby amongst the Mike Bibby and Robert Horry cards, I was elated...and I haven't really stopped collecting since. I have pulled several great relics since then, but you never forget your first..and for that reason, Kareem Rush will always have a place in my collection.

Vince Young

This card came to me in a rookie lot, along with Troy Aikman and (shudder) Kordell Stewart. Ah...Vince Young. What can you say about a man who allegedly scored a 6 on the Wonderlic test but can do things like this? Or this? As of right now, I have only 1 relic card of VY, but zero autograph cards, simply because they are still really expensive, especially for someone who was out of football last year after stints with the Titans, Eagles and (briefly) Bills. He has an upcoming pro day to showcase his skills in a bid to return to the NFL. I hope it happens; he has major talent and just needs to be on the right team with the right environment.

Colt McCoy

One of the few actual 'pulls' I own of a Longhorn alum. Colt is a UT legend, at one point having the most wins by a QB in the history of college football, but I think someone else (Kellen Moore?) has that mark now.  Right now he is mired in obscurity in Cleveland after being drafted by them in the 3rd round in 2010. With any luck he will get traded to someone with a halfway decent O-line. Also has the dubious distinction of being on the James Harrison Hit Parade. See this...

Quan Cosby

This card was given to me by a friend...thanks Chuck! As far as Quan Cosby goes, I remember him being on the 2005 BCS Championship squad and catching the winning TD reception in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State. He was undrafted but signed by the Bengals and has bounced around the league. He is currently a free agent.

Jamaal Charles

Jamaal is another great Longhorn RB in the recent tradition of Ricky Williams, Cedric Benson and Priest Holmes. A track & field athlete as well as football player, he helped the 'Horns win the 2005 BCS Championship as a freshman and his Texas career was off and running. Due to injuries and fumbles, he didn't fare too well in his sophomore season, But he ended up with over 1,400 yards his junior year and looked to be a Heisman candidate for his senior season. Never happened. After stating a desire to return to Austin, he proceeded to have an NFL draft evaluation and apparently liked what he was told. The Kansas City Chiefs drafted him in the third round, and for a few seasons sat behind Larry Johnson. After Johnsons' release, he briefly split carries with Kolby Smith and was then named the #1 back. He is back at it again in 2012 after missing most of 2011 with a torn ACL.

Chris Simms

Ah,  Chris Simms. UT fans have a love-hate relationship with the golden boy...mostly because he wasn't Major Applewhite. In 2001 Mack Brown named him starter and he performed well for the most part, but he blew the Big 12 championship game, and as a result he was named backup to Major for the Holiday Bowl. After school he was drafted by the Buccaneers in the 3rd round and spent four years there, marked mostly by his squabbles with Jon Gruden and a nasty spleen rupture. He then signed with the Titans backing up fellow UT alum Vince Young, and then to the Broncos where he was supplanted by Brady Quinn and subsequently released. One more season with the Titans and he was done. As of this writing he is employed by the New England Patriots.

Jordan Shipley

First card - 2010 Topps Chrome Jordan Shipley jersey/auto.

A little backstory: I grew up in central Texas near a town called Lampasas. The main rival of the Lampasas Badgers was (is?) the Burnet Bulldogs, who were 20 miles away. Jordan Shipley attended Burnet and set umpteen high school receiving records in the process. The quarterback throwing all those passes to him? None other than current Dallas Cowboys third stringer, Stephen McGee. Together they advanced to a couple state championship games, one of which I attended in San Antonio against Everman. He was then drafted in the 3rd round by the Cincinnati Bengals, where he played (when not injured) until August 17th of this year, when he was waived. Tampa Bay signed him a few days later, and hopefully he catches on with them. When he is healthy, he is a quick and precise route runner with great hands.

As for the card itself? What's not to like? The only thing that would've made this better was an actual on-card autograph, as opposed to a sticker. This beaut set me back $5 on ebay.

Just what the internet needs...

....another sports card blog. There are already several great ones out there, but this one is unique. I will be covering Longhorn alumni in the NFL, past and present. It is one of my ongoing 'side collections' and I thought it would be a fun project to highlight some of my favorite pieces. I also will probably get off topic every once and awhile if I acquire a cool card of another sport, but hey, as Bobby Brown so eloquently put it...that's my prerogative!