Mack Brown “Messed Up” Texas Recruitment by Pursuing Former Heisman QB as a Defensive Player: “This Could’ve Been Y’all”

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The Texas Longhorns were one evaluation away from securing their next Vince Young, or perhaps someone even better, right after Young graduated. Instead, a shocking talent misjudgment by legendary former head coach Mack Brown changed the entire trajectory of college football. Rather than extending the Longhorns’ modern dynasty, the failure to recognize generational quarterback talent left Mack Brown’s Texas a decade behind.

One of college football’s wildest “what-if” stories took center stage during a casual episode of The Joel Klatt Show’s Big Noon Conversations Quarterback Roundtable. Sitting down with host Joel Klatt, Brady Quinn and Robert Griffin III (RG3) spilled the tea on how Texas totally missed the boat.

Back in 2008, Baylor was viewed as the “little brother” of the Big 12, while Texas was the undisputed powerhouse. Because RG3 was a world-class track athlete, major programs like Texas and Texas A&M only saw his raw speed and projected him as a safety, despite him not playing a single snap at safety in high school.

“I did not play safety in high school. So, I mean, it was crazy,” RG3 said. “It was the speed portion of it. I was a world-class track athlete, and they didn’t know if I could translate over to playing quarterback at that level because in high school we were kind of like Ohio State. We threw the ball like 16 to 18 times a game.”

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However, the only coach who believed in his arm was Baylor’s Art Briles, who actually told a young RG3 to avoid other college camps so rival coaches wouldn’t find out how well he could throw.

The mistake became glaringly obvious during RG3’s freshman season when Baylor fought a top-ranked Texas team to a shocking tie at halftime. Although Texas eventually woke up and secured a victory, RG3’s dynamic playmaking didn’t go unnoticed. Even though the quarterback had a bad throwing day, the Longhorns’ staff was completely stunned by his playmaking ability.

Right after the game, Mack Brown did something unforgettable.

“Mack Brown ran to me in the middle of the field and said, ‘If you want to transfer to Texas right now, we will take you. We really messed it up in your recruiting. We shouldn’t have asked you to play safety. We should have asked you to play quarterback,’” RG3 revealed.

If that bizarre mid-game pitch had happened in today’s era of the transfer portal and NIL money, RG3 admits it would have been nearly impossible to turn down. However, back in 2008, NCAA rules would have forced him to sit out for two entire years to switch schools, so he didn’t even contemplate leaving Baylor.

And Texas would eventually have to live with that decision.

After revolutionizing college football with his explosive playmaking, throwing for 4,293 yards, 37 touchdowns, and just six interceptions, while adding 699 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns, Heisman voters had no choice but to call his name. Not to mention, he had stacked a couple of national medals in track and finished 11th in the Olympic qualifiers.

Looking back on Mack Brown’s missed opportunity right after Texas’s dominant era with Vince Young and Colt McCoy, RG3 wasn’t going to let Texas’ snub slide.

“When we won the Heisman, I just looked back on that moment like, ‘This could have been y’all. This could’ve been y’all, [Texas],’” Griffin said, laughing.

Truth be told, the absurd part of the story is: How in the world did Mack Brown completely miss the boat on him right after coaching Vince Young? He literally had a front-row seat to how a dual-threat quarterback could completely change the game with Vince Young.

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