Category Archives: University of Texas

NFL, University of Texas

Walker, Johnny (WR)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Card: Upper Deck UT 2011, photo memorabilia
Acquired: In Person 11/9/2011, UD UT 2011 Release Party

Johnny Walker was a beast of a receiver in the dying days of the SWC playing for David McWilliams at the University of Texas. He’d team up with Oklahoma beater Peter Gardere, diminutive speedster Tony Jones, and Eric Metcalf to make high flying acrobatics. Some of my earliest memories of watching College Football on TV was when my friend Josh would come over and instead of watching cartoons, we watched Saturday football on the Raycom Sports Network. A UT All-SWC wide receiver in 1989 and 1990, Walker was also a standout baseball player and had been drafted by the Cubs in 1987 and the Braves in 1990.  After graduating from UT he’d be drafted in the 8th round of the 1991 draft by the Green Bay Packers, but would not make the team.  He currently works in sports radio out of San Antonio where he gives his no-holds barred perspective on the Longhorns and the national sports scene. He also handles Medicare work as well.

I really like this card. There are some players in the history of your favorite schools that just don’t get the national exposure after they graduate that you’d like them to. I went to the appearance with the idea in mind that Walker would not have a card, but to break open a box and find his in there along with legends like Bill Bradley and others, made it all the while for me to get the set. My only complaint was the high gloss that is insisted upon by companies like UD. When will they learn that many fans WANT to get these cards autographed and the gloss only makes it harder for the autograph to take. The backs of the cards are, -well underwhelming. Where are the stats and player information?

When I met Johnny I had an extra of his card that I immediately gave to him. He had not seen it yet so it made him very excited. There was never a card of Walker produced. I also had him sign a piece of photo memorabilia, to which he wrote across it “O Who? Johnny Walker #1 Hook em 28-24” which was the score of the infamous game they won in 1989 when Johnny caught the game winning touchdown (pictured) against the Sooners.

 

CFL, NFL, University of Texas

Babers, Rod “Kool Aid”

 

Cards: Upper Deck Finite 2003, Bowman 2003
Acquired: In Person, 11/9/11 Card Traders of Austin UD 2011 UT Football Card Launch Party
See also: Babers, Rod (2), Rod Babers “Black Caesar” (3)

Rod Babers is a legend for the University of Texas where he started 36 games, and returned 3 of his first 5 thefts for touchdowns. He earned 1st Team All Big 12 honors in 2002 and excelled in tight coverage. He’d finish his career at UT with 131 tackles, 4 sacks, 5 picks, 3 FF and 3 TDs, -and as a Jim Thorpe Award Semifinalist.  At 5’9″, 190, Babers was undersized for the position, but made it onto the radar of NFL scouts with his career numbers and speed (4.3 40).

The New York Giants would draft him in the 4th round (123rd pick) of the 2003 draft, but he’d walk out of camp- distraught over the death of his grandfather. The Giants, unable to justify keeping him cut Roderick. He’d quickly sign with the Detroit Lions where he played the next two seasons suiting up for 7 games recording 5 tackles. In 2005, Rod was signed by the Bucs, and also played for the Broncos and Bears that season.  He’d move to Canada in 2006 to play for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL, retiring after the season.

Babers quickly found a home working on 1300 “The Zone” in Austin, Texas as one of the crew of the Longhorn Station and you can frequently hear him on the airwaves cutting it up and talking about football and the cougars around Austin. Recently he had been doing multiple autograph appearances, so I put in an order on a few cards of his to see if I could add him to the collection, but a local card shop I had been frequenting recently had a promotion for a new set of Upper Deck Cards. Luckily I had ordered these cards a few days before from Burbank Sports Cards, and they delivered them in no time flat. (They may cost a little bit more, but BSC typically has the largest selection and variety and treat their internet customers with the same respect that they do their in person collectors.)  Overall these were pretty nice cards for the collection to get autographed. I did really hate the computer serial number coding that they used at the time to denote limited edition cards, but overall both of these cards hit their mark nicely.

Rod was impressed with my football knowledge and plugged me on the radio when he noticed that I was a Texans fan. Josh and I made lots of noise from time to time before they went out to commercial break to plug the event as though it was really happening. We all had a great laugh and Rod asked us to be sure to come out again and have a good time.

 

NFL, University of Texas

Okam, Frank

Card: Upper Deck Star Rookies 2008
Acquired: TTM 2010, Texans Blitz

Big Frank Okam was a dominating force in college playing for the University of Texas. Okam would contribute all four years of college and garner regular looks from pro scouts, was named to the Big Twelve squads on multiple occasions and helped the team make win the national championship in 2005. At 6’5, 350 Okam was considered a two space gap stuffer at the pro level who could play not only defensive tackle but kick inside and play nose tackle, but injuries in his final season and questions about Frank’s heart and desire to play football caused his stock to drop. The Texans would draft Frank in the 5th round of the 2008 draft, and he would suit up for 5 games making 2 tackles. In 2009 he’d suit up for 3 games but never see playing time, with injuries taking their toll on the young player, so in  2010 with the writing on the wall after 5 games and only a tackle under his belt, he would be cut by the Texans in October. He’d sign with the Seahawks- cut again- and then found himself on the roster of the Buccaneers for the final 3 games, where things are looking up for Frank as he made 10 tackles to close out the season.

I was pretty jazzed about this pick by the Texans and thought to myself that the ‘desire’ issue was just a bunch of hooey. Sometimes watching him during the preseason, he’d show flashes of brilliance completely controlling the line and then in others get completely blown off the line. Quite the enigma. I hope that with the complete defensive philosophy change, Okam over the next few years can turn into that space eater I remembered from the University of Texas.