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!