With the prospects of Major returning to the 40 acres, I thought it'd fun to remember some of his greatness. I'll offer out: 1. Completion against Neb to seal our first victory at their house. He rolls right to by time, somehow flips it to a well-covered Wayne McGarity just before getting absolutely hammered. As I recall the next shot of Major, his helmet was spun about half-way around his boyish head. 2. 97-yard TD to McGarrity against OU. As I recall it was early in the 3rd quarter, we were backed-up against our goal line. OU was stacking the line against a probable Ricky run. Major play-action fakes then hits McGarity in stride on a deep post over the middle. Wayne never looked back. OU never recovered. 3. TD Pass to BJ in Big 12 CCG. After an entire season of speculating about the health of Applewhite, the first half debacle in the Big 12 CCG inserts Major into limelight again. On the first or second play from scrimmage, Major drops back and hits BJ down the seam for a 60+ yard TD. After the game, I remember Major commenting about the directions of the safety's hips that tipped him off to the route being open. Thanks for the memories! Hope he comes back to make some more.
Meeting him at the UT Women's conference in 2004. I remember my best friend, all giddy, saying "There's Major... we gotta get him!" Well... we did get his autographs. Great guy! Look forward to him on the 40 acres again!
My favorite play was in the 4th quarter vs. Nebraska in ’99. With the ball at midfield, Major did a perfect fake to buy extra time, and then floated a long pass into the running outstretched arms of Ryan Nunez. A couple of plays later came the TD to Mike Jones to put us ahead. The TD pass is the one that is remembered, but the pass to Nunez that set it up was really the play of the game. That win prevented NU from going undefeated and playing for the MNC. It also played a huge part in showing the nation that Texas under Mack Brown was on its way. ESPN Gameday was there that day, and Herbsteit said after the game that with our recruiting and facilities, we would soon be up there with the Tennessee’s, the Miami’s, and the Florida State’s. I wanted to believe it could happen, but it still seemed like a dream. Now here we are in 2008, the winningest program the past ten years, a national championship under our belt, and the aforementioned programs in our rear view mirror. No doubt Major played a HUGE role in setting the foundation. Oh, and for what it worth, VY gave him mad props while in Austin last fall for helping his development while a grad assistant.
Oh, the 99 Nebraska game is so good ... and can be found here: 1st halfThe Link 2nd halfThe Link For maximum effect, at the 3:42 mark of the 2nd half, start up this MP3:The Link
TEXAS vs Oklahoma (Oct 10, 1998) T 2-9 T03 Applewhite, Maj pass complete to McGarity, Wane for 97 yards, TOUCHDOWN, clock 11:46.
Watching him on the sideline between offensive series during the comeback attempt versus CU in the CCG in 01. "Pumped" does not do it justice.
Taking a knee in Cole's game for me. Major putting up 4 fingers up on each hand and raising them to the sky.
All of those are great Major moments. Also don't forget him working the 2-minute drill to perfection in '98 Aggy game(Ricky's run) to lead us down for Stockton's game-winning fg. And who can forget his last game, the 2000 Holiday Bowl against Washington when he led a 19 point 4th Qtr comeback?
Anyone know where I could get a copy of the Washington Holiday Bowl game? I'd love to rewatch that one!
My favorite memory was when he coached J. Chiles and D. Scott to a national championship as OC and then a couple more national championships as head coach. Oh wait, nevermind, I'm seeing the future instead.
It is a tie. 97 yards against OU with Wayne running straight towards us in the northeast corner of the Cotton Bowl. 3 yards in Lincoln.......an inch one way or the other and we settle for the FG instead of taking the 20-16 lead. That was back when winning in Lincoln really meant something and cemented that the 37-27 was no fluke. We are just in their heads and we are going to beat them. And for that we are grateful.
On the field - his leadership in the 47-43 Washington game I'll never forget. Off the field - seeing a bumper sticker on some sorority girl's car that read as follows - I f*cked Major Applewhite
One of my favorite memories of Major is actually how wrong it made me and my initial opinion of Major. I think I have a pretty good eye for talent and who can play and who can't play. I used to film for several years for a well known national talent scout and have watched many years of HS football and have helped evaluate talent. I went to practice one day of Major's RS freshman year. I was watching practice overall and noticing various players not even really knowing who Major was, when I noticed this young, skinny kid "trying to play QB" at TEXAS! I thought to myself, "who is this kid and why did Mackovic offer him a scholarship"? He looked horrible! No arm strength. No mobility. Dropped back on his tippy toes. Tried to show the "right form", but just wasn't impressive at all. I had this look on my face in disgust and was shaking my head and wondering why in the world would we waste a 'ship on "this kind of player"? I saw him come into the UCLA game in LA as a RS freshman when Richard Walton went down with an injury and thought, "oh boy, we're in deep trouble". I couldn't have been more wrong! Major completely stunned me and humbled me with his play, and the rest was history. I still think today if Coach Brown had let him start his entire time at Texas how many records and how many more games we would have won. I had lunch with his dad, Larry, in Houston one afternoon and met with him on several occaisions after that and it was obvious after talking with Larry what kind of family Major comes from. Hats off to his Larry and his wife for bringing up such a smart, mature beyond his age, disciplined, respectful, humble and savvy young man they did with Major. Major, thanks for humbling me and proving that I don't know it all. You're a once in a lifetime player IMO and I thank you for coming to Texas, graduating, and being the class human being that you are! Hook'em!
Even though we lost, seeing Major sprint down the field against Colorado and tell them to bring it on because we were coming back...
Yeah, the Major Appleturnover blame game. It was pretty easy to blame the OL in that game, but considering how they improved from that moment until the A&M game at the end of the year does put some of the burden on Major. Especially the pick by "hiding in the shadows" Simoneau that sealed the game midway thru the 4th quarter. A big moment that came to mind was against OU the next week after the KSU debacle. Down 17-0 in the first 12 minutes of the game, it looked like a shellacking was on. But once Major started moving the ball, you just knew we would never lose that one. He opened up the field for Hodges to run wild, and all was great... at least until the next time we played OU. Also the CU game in 2000 after we got fuckstomped by OU. The way we came out on the road and beat down a favored CU put a spring back into the step. Our defense probably had more to do with the overall performance, but Major always had that poise and confidence around him.
