It seems to be an ongoing debate. Who is “DBU” or defensive back university. The usual suspects are Florida, Alabama, Ohio State, Louisiana State or Texas. Bleacher Report posed the question of who can claim “Defense U”. Texas was among the teams who made the cut just outside of the top three.
The top three schools should come as no shock with Florida State, Southern California and Miami (FL). The basis of the argument dates back from 1970 to current. For the Longhorns, they were the last team listed in the honorable mentions.
Casey Hampton, Doug English and Steve McMichael on the defensive line. Derrick Johnson and Brian Orakpo at linebacker. Earl Thomas, Jerry Gray and Raymond Clayborn in the secondary. There are no “best of all time” candidates in the bunch, but that’s a nice collection of alumni at all three levels of the defense, featuring a dozen multiple-time Pro Bowlers. That combination of factors made Texas the toughest school to cut out of our top three.
Prior to 1970, there was a man named Tommy Nobis who was viewed as one of the all-time greats in college football. However, bases on the criteria he was just outside of their scope as he finished his collegiate career in 1965. Had B/R expanded their list to a top five, the Longhorns are likely listed at number four of the greatest defensive talent schools in the last 50 years.
Other notable names that played defense at Texas were defensive end Bill Atessis (1968-70), defensive back Johnnie Johnson (1976-79), and defensive end Kiki DeAyla (1979-82). DeAyla still holds the school record for most sacks in a season (22.5 sacks) and for a career (40.5).