Category Archives: University of Texas

NFL, University of Texas

Johnson, Derrick ‘DJ’ (3)

Cards: Score 2013, Score 2010, Topps 2011, Score 2014, Panini UT 2015 (2), Upper Deck 2009
Acquired: 2019, IP Heisman House Tour
See Also: Derrick Johnson, DJ Johnson (2)

The past few years Nissan has done a promotion for the Heisman where they set up a tent and bring down a college legend to sign and take photos with fans. Calling it the ‘Heisman House’, previous years have netted me guys like Vince Young, Ricky Williams, and even LenDale White. It seemed like a shoe in that I’d be able to nail down 2nd half guest Derrick Johnson on a few more cards but as luck seemed to have it- the organizers changed the rules and almost incurred the wrath of fans waiting in line.

You see their Facebook posts indicated that players were signing for fans or taking selfies. For the vast majority of fans who were there, we just wanted the autograph. So after the DJ tried to tell us that we could only get a selfie, a group of us got frustrated and voiced our displeasure. It took a few minutes but the situation was resolved in time for us to get both Ricky and DJ’s autograph with no issue.

One of the highlights of the event is that you could ask Derrick any question you wanted, so naturally there was one thing on my mind.

I want to apologize to you on behalf of the entire Houston Texans organization for trading down and not selecting you during the draft.

DJ let our a hearty chuckle and then told me that nobody had apologized for that, and that while he did appreciate it, it was unnecessary. He then recounted how he was selected 15th in the 2005 draft and that the Texans passed him over and traded down- had the chance to select him, but instead took Travis Johnson. DJ’s memory was sharp. He then talked about the LB talent in the draft that went before him, and the rest of the players selected before him- but no he didn’t hold a grudge- <insert wide smile>. He did however enjoy himself to some degree every year when the Chiefs hammered the Texans.

DJ has signed previously for me, so I was beginning to run out of cards of his. I had been angling since 2015 to get these Panini UT cards signed. A bit over produced, but I do like them, and the ink looks good on these canvases. I just don’t really understand why they did 2 cards of every player and then variations on top of that. The set (other flaws notwithstanding) is confusing enough as it is.

I absolutely hate this Upper Deck card. Don’t like the design and I never have liked camp photos where players are not in pads. It was sort of the bottom of the barrel to me. I’ve earmarked it for my friend Mark to have.

I liked the Score 2010 set. I like the deconstructive elements of the set, but not so much the 2013 Score card. It’s a boring design and it almost requires the photo to be a portrait, so this landscape just seems a bit off. I thought the Topps card was alright. It was a soft evolution of the card design. The only problem I had with it is that it looked a bit too much like a grill or that it was lifted off of a Fox Sports presentation from that era.

In 2018 Derrick was inducted into the Kansas City Chiefs Ring of Honor.

NFL, University of Texas

Thomas III, Earl

Cards: Panini UT 2016, Panini Contenders 2016, Topps Valor 2016
Acquired: IP 2019, Kickin It
Failure: 2017, C/o The Seattle Seahawks

Earl Thomas is from a long line of outstanding defensive backs that have come out of the University of Texas. After Michael Huff and Aaron Ross won the Jim Thorpe Awards back to back- it seemed like the best had already passed, but Earl Thomas had a year for the ages at UT in 2009, posting 65 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 8 interceptions for 149 and 2 TDs. He’d declare for the NFL draft and be selected by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round (14th overall) of 2010.

Immediately settling into the secondary at free safety, Earl formed a key component of the Seahawks legendary secondary, “The Legion of Boom”. His rookie season, Thomas posted 5 interceptions, 7 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, and 76 combined tackles. He’d earn his first of 7 Pro Bowl appearances the following year in 2011, and his first of 3 straight AP nominations in 2012, notching a career high 122 tackles in 2014. That year the Seahawks won the Super Bowl. The love affair seemed as though it would never end, but in 2017 rumblings began to emerge that Earl was wanting a new contract. This manifested into a full blown brouhaha in 2018 as he held out of camp, expressing the desire to have the contract renegotiated or traded to another team that’d pay him. A few teams stepped forward and tried to kick off negotiations- namely the Cowboys and Chiefs. Neither were able to get a deal done with Seattle brass due to the Seahawks’ high asking price. He’d report to camp for the first game and play well through week 4- when his season ended abruptly with a broken leg. As he was carted off the field he gave the Seahawks brass the single finger salute. In 2019, Earl signed a free agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens where he quickly returned to his intercepting ways.

Earl has a shoe store in Austin called Kickin’ It in The Domain area. A bourgeois section of town, the shoe store wants to stand out from the competition as being a place for avid shoe fans to hang out. From time to time to promote the store and keep with the vibe, they will bring guests in for signings. Earl originally was supposed to be there with the store opening, but with his broken leg and all, he couldn’t fly (see Scott Erney). Eventually Earl was able to make it and boy did it turn into a circus quickly.

I planned to get there about 3 to 4 hours before the event began, thinking that I’d be at the front of the line, but I was beaten there by 4-6 people. I stood out in the freezing cold then until the event began, as the line began to swell while waiting for my new cohort, Jeff, to arrive. Once he arrived, we chatted and waited. The line by that point was easily 200 deep. When Earl arrived, he emerged from his car with his family, with his young baby was clad in Cowboys paraphernalia.

Earl to be honest wasn’t happy. I think he had already figured out there were some resellers in the crowd and people weren’t spending money, and while I tried to be friendly with him, his disposition was notably sour. He signed 2 cards for me. A woman in front of me, loved how I was chit chatting with her family and gave them a card, so she got two more cards signed for me. As you can see there are just 3 cards up here. That is because I gave Jeff the 4th so we both ended up with 3 autographs.

We got back in line, but it was a madhouse, and new rules were coming down from above. Anybody who wanted anymore than 1 autograph from Earl would have to spend 45 bucks in the store. This then changed to 30 bucks- but with fans still murmuring about the change of policy so suddenly, this then finally changed to a custom Earl Kickin It t-shirt. At that point Jeff and I decided we had enough and called it a day.

A few nitpicks of how the event was run by Kickin It. First, they should’ve issued wristbands. This would’ve fixed quite a few things. It would’ve allowed fans to not have to stay in line for hours, perhaps encouraging us to look around the store. It also would’ve discouraged SHILs. Look I was doing it to some degree waiting for Jeff, but the guy at the front of the line- who is a reseller, held the line for his entire family that showed up 15-20 minutes before the event- much to the chagrin of everybody behind him.

Secondly, Kickin It actually discouraged fans from walking around the store by telling them they’d lose their place in line if they decided to come in and browse around or try to warm up. I mean that just made no sense. Again, probably the wristbands would’ve nipped this in the bud.

Third and finally, there was no rules in place before the event posted. Autographs- yes. Great. Now tell people exactly what the rules are. Don’t tell people after its started you have to spend xx amount of money. That should’ve been decided on beforehand.

I really like the Panini Contenders 2016 card he signed. That was the top top of my list. The Panini UT card wasn’t bad either. It’s a fine shot of him with great shadows. I am not a super fan of the Valor card, it was a distant 4th, but I decided to keep it anyway as a vanity piece. A lot of people really like Valor and year I am OK with it in general, but it is not the default I go to get signed. Anyway, overall, I somehow managed to get Earl on a few items, which I am happy about- despite the circus.

I failed on Earl back in 2017 when he signed a spate of TTM requests. I may have cast too much shade unknowingly because I joked about how he always had his best games against the Cowboys- which I later found out has been his favorite team since he was growing up.

NFL, University of Texas

Kindle, Sergio

Cards: TNT UT, Score 2010, Topps Chrome 2010
Acquired: In Person 2018, MNF w/ the Horn

Sergio Kindle played collegially at the University of Texas from 2006-2010. A punishing, rangy player with a great motor who could line up at both defensive end and outside linebacker,  Kindle really started taking off in 2008, posting 53 tackles, 10 sacks, 14 tackles for loss, and 2 fumble recoveries.  Kindle moved primarily to defensive end for 2009, (replacing Brian Orapko in the lineup). Sergio had 47 tackles, 3 sacks, and 17 tackles for loss in his Senior campaign. He had solid combine numbers, and was the highest rated outside linebacker (3-4 defenses), but thanks to some questionable decisions during his time at UT, his draft stock slid. 

The Ravens swooped in during the second round of the 2010 draft and selected Sergio. Unfortunately a series of tragic incidents befell Kindle before he hit the field for Baltimore. He’d lose his entire rookie season to a serious head injury- after falling down 2 flights of stairs and cracking his skull.  He’d then be later arrested for DUI, and then run into some financial issues. Still Sergio managed to see action in 2011, and then in 2012 spent some of the season on the Ravens’ practice squad. He’d be waived in 2013, ending his playing career.

Sergio was very nice at the Monday Night Football event hosted by The Horn. I had been dying to go to an event all year and this one lined up perfectly. He signed all three cards, and I gave him a stack of the TNT UT card that I made for him to keep- which he really appreciated. Sergio explained to me that the Ravens card photos were taken very early in camp and that he switched from 49 to 94 later once he settled in. Serge stayed for the event and teamed up for an interview show with Rod Babers. I won a $25.00 gift certificate to the place where the event was taking place.  

Sergio is planning to move back to the Dallas area where he hopes to go into coaching. He was intrigued when I mentioned the XFL and the AAF as a possible training ground for him to get his feet wet coaching.

Sergio Kindle has been floating around Austin since he retired from the league abruptly. I knew he worked at a car dealership for a while there, and thought about hitting him up that way, but this event just came along nicely and fit into my schedule.  Kindle was a great linebacker for UT so I went ahead and made him a card since he was in none of the legends sets. (I’ve pretty much retired the look from that set, but I have thought about making more Longhorn Legends cards recently.) I really like his Score 2010 card. It frames up pretty nicely on him and I knew it’d look good autographed. Sergio apologized for accidentally putting his college number on the card. I didn’t see anything wrong with it- but it was classy of him to care enough to let me know. His chrome issue actually looks better than the Score card autographed. The blue picks up really nicely on the canvas.  

There are a few more cards of his I wouldn’t mind getting signed, and I’ll probably go ahead and pick those up so I am stocked for the next time I catch him around town.