The Best of the Mack Brown Era: All-Time Texas Longhorn Offense (1998-2010)

Last year's disappointing 5-7 season may have put a damper on Mack Brown's career at Texas but, besides his one-year hiccup, let us not forget the tremendous success Mack Brown has brought to the program since his arrival in December of 1997. This slideshow, and the corresponding slideshow showcasing Mack's all-time defensive team while at Texas, displays some of the all-time great players who have come through the program during Brown's time in Austin.

Offensive Lineman: Kasey Studdard (2003-2006)

The powerful, 310-pound left guard was a critical component in Texas' offensive line from 2003-2006.  He started 38-straight games from his sophomore year in 2004 to his graduation in 2006.  

In 2005, his second-team AP All-Conference honors made him a critical part of a Texas O-line that anchored the nation's highest per-game scoring offense.  

In 2006, Studdard continued to make a substantial impact, this time earning first-team All-Big XII honors. Studdard was a sixth-round pick of the Houston Texans in the 2007 NFL draft, where he has been a starter since 2009.

Offensive Lineman: Justin Blalock (2003-2006)

After redshirting for his true freshman year in 2002, Justin Blalock made an immediate impact for the Longhorns' offensive line.  He started 50 games (every game during his college career), and earned All-American honors his junior and senior seasons (third-team by the Associated Press in 2005 and-consensus first-team his senior season in 2006), in addition to earning freshman All-American honors in 2003 and first-team Big XII accolades his sophomore season in 2004.

Justin Blalock quickly became a household name for the Longhorns, and was a part of the hallowed 2002 recruiting class that was the backbone of the Longhorns' 2005 national championship run.  After concluding his stellar career at Texas, Blalock was drafted in the second round of the 2007 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons, where he currently starts.

Tight End: David Thomas (2002-2005)

There is little debate about David Thomas' legacy during his tenure at Texas.  Appearing in 51 career games and starting in 38 of them, Thomas holds school records for receptions, yardage and TDs among Texas tight ends.

Thomas was a consensus first-team All-Conference selection his senior season and was also first-team All-Conference pick his junior year in 2004.  In both of those seasons he was a favorite target of quarterback Vince Young, most notably with his University of Texas (UT), tight-end single-game receptions record (10) that Thomas set during the Longhorns' 2006 BCS National Championship win in 2006 over the USC Trojans.  

With over 1,500 yards in his time with the Longhorns, Thomas is easily the best pass-catching tight end the Longhorns have ever had.

Honorable mention: Bo Scaife (2001-2004)

Wide Receiver: Jordan Shipley (2004-2009)

Despite suffering debilitating injuries early in his career, six-year receiver Jordan Shipley will go down in Texas football history as one of the greatest receivers to grace the orange and white.  Shipley set the school record for career receptions with 248, and in 2009 set UT single-season records for receptions (116), receiving yards (1,485) and receiving touchdowns (tied for first with 13).  

Shipley also made a mark as the Longhorns' punt and kick returner in 2008 and 2009, most memorably his 96-yard kick return for a touchdown in the 2008 Red River Rivalry game against Oklahoma in 2008. Shipley was drafted in the third round of the 2010 NFL draft, and already made an impact last season as a rookie with his new team, the Cincinnati Bengals.

Wide Receiver: Roy Williams (2000-2003)

Arguably even better than Shipley, Roy Williams left a legacy of greatness at Texas and was a staple of the UT offense.  Despite being a receiver for four different starting quarterbacks during his tenure (Major Applewhite, Chris Simms, Chance Mock and Vince Young), Roy Williams continued to make big catch after big catch.  

A first-team all-Big XII selection his senior year, Roy Williams is ranked second all-time in career receptions (241) and holds UT's career records in receiving yards (3,866), TD receptions (36) and 100-yard receiving games (16).  No matter who was lining up under center, Roy Williams was always a go-to receiver and was one of Mack Brown's greatest players at Texas.  Williams was drafted seventh overall in the 2004 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions, and he currently plays for the Dallas Cowboys.

Honorable Mentions: Limas Sweed (2004-2007), Quan Cosby (2005-2008)

Running Back: Ricky Williams (1995-1998)

The 1998 Heisman Trophy winner will forever go down as one of the greatest players in Texas and college football history.  With over 2,000 yards rushing his senior season, Ricky Williams capped off one of the greatest single-player runs in college football by breaking Tony Dorsett's career college football rushing record with 6,279 yards.  

While Williams was always a successful and versatile back, his career truly blossomed with the arrival of Mack Brown to the Longhorns for Williams' senior year in 1998.  Most importantly, Brown moved Williams from his slot as a fullback into the halfback position; a move that clearly was successful as Williams went on to win the Heisman Trophy his senior year.

In his colorful career, Ricky Williams set 47 school records and 21 NCAA records, many of which still stand today.

Honorable Mentions: Cedric Benson (2001-2004), Jamaal Charles (2005-2007) 

Quarterback: Vince Young (2003-2005)

Is there any debating the legitimacy of Mr. InVINCEable?  With numerous memorable individual performances in various games, Vince Young has established himself as one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of college football.  

In his redshirt freshman year, his throwing ability was scoffed to the point that many fans were criticizing Young's ability as a passer.  Many suggested that he should forsake the quarterback position altogether. But Vince Young proved everyone wrong.  

Midway through his sophomore season in 2004 seemed to be the turning point for Young.  Allowed to be himself on game days, he began to light up the scoreboard like never before seen, engineering a mammoth 28-point comeback (the largest in school history) against Oklahoma State and leading another great comeback at Kansas later in the season.  By his senior year, Young had established himself as a stable and successful quarterback, throwing for 3,026 yards and running for another 1,050.

But what most college football fans remember about Vince Young was his two stellar individual performances in the 2005 and 2006 Rose Bowls.  Young was the leader behind a 10-point comeback against Michigan in the 2005 game, silencing many critics who claimed that Texas never should have belonged in the game in the first place.  Following the game, Young famously prophesied that Texas would return to the Rose Bowl a year later, when the game would be the host to the national title game.

In fulfillment of his prophecy, Texas, under the leadership of Young, completed a near-flawless 12-0 regular season in which Vince Young finished runner-up in the race for the Heisman trophy.  Playing the role of underdogs in the championship game against top-ranked USC, the Longhorns fell behind by 12, 38-26 with just over six minutes remaining in the game.  Young worked his magic one last time, engineering two magical touchdown drives, capped off by Vince Young touchdown runs that gave Texas its first national title since 1970.

Young would be one of the only players in history to win back-to-back Rose Bowl MVP awards, and he became the first player in the bowl's history to record a game with 200 pass and 200 rushing yards in the 2006 game.  

Young would declare for the NFL draft after his junior year, finishing his Texas career with an impressive 30-2 career record as a starter.  In 2008, Young would be honored as a Texas great forever with the retirement of his signature No. 10 jersey number.

Honorable Mentions: Major Applewhite (1998-2001), Colt McCoy (2006-2009)