Jump to content

Greatest H.S. Football Player in East Texas History Poll...


Smoaky

Recommended Posts

Earl Campbell was the best linebacker, running back, blocker and special teams’ player I’ve ever seen. He was an all-everything linebacker before becoming a running back his senior year at John Tyler, as a blocker (in high school) he was crippling. Earl still holds the record in at least one bowl game and a career at UT for blocking punts and kicks. His running need not be mentioned.  It was not fun coaching against him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, VZCR said:

Earl Campbell was the best linebacker, running back, blocker and special teams’ player I’ve ever seen. He was an all-everything linebacker before becoming a running back his senior year at John Tyler, as a blocker (in high school) he was crippling. Earl still holds the record in at least one bowl game and a career at UT for blocking punts and kicks. His running need not be mentioned.  It was not fun coaching against him.

 

 

What a lot of people don't realize about Earl Campbell was that he also had sprinters speed in high school and college and the early part of his pro career ...  he wasn't just a big powerful runner, he was fast ... i was told he ran a 9.6 hundred yard dash in high school .... that ain't slow by any means ...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't believe they left out Robert Newhouse of Hallsville, Mike Barber of White Oak, Hosea Taylor of Longview, Trent Williams of Longview, and I'm sure I'm missing others.  Those are just a few that stood out in my mind.    

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

They also left out probably one of the top 3 of all time in Ken Houston ... unbelievable!

Kenneth Ray Houston (born November 12, 1944) is a former American football safety in the American Football League and National Football League. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986. Ken HoustonNo. 29, 27Position:SafetyPersonal informationBorn:November 12, 1944 (age 74) Lufkin, TexasHeight:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)Weight:197 lb (89 kg)Career informationHigh school:Dunbar (Lufkin, Texas)College:Prairie View A&MNFL Draft:1967 / Round: 9 / Pick: 214Career historyHouston Oilers (1967–1972)Washington Redskins (1973–1980)Career highlights and awards

12× Pro Bowl (1968–1979)

2× First-team AllPro (1975, 1978)

10× Second-team All-Pro (1968–1974, 1976, 1977, 1979)

NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time TeamNFL 1970s All-Decade TeamTitans/Oilers Ring of Honor70 Greatest RedskinsWashington Redskins Ring of FameCareer NFL statisticsGames played:196Interceptions:49Interception return yards:898Fumblesrecovered:21Touchdowns:12Player stats at NFL.comPlayer stats at PFR Pro Football Hall of Fame Houston played for the AFL's Houston Oilers from 1967 through 1969, and after the AFL–NFL merger, with the Oilers from 1970through 1972, then with the Washington Redskins until 1980.

Also no Domingo Bryant ... unbelievable

Domingo Garcia Bryant (born December 8, 1963) is a former American football defensive backwho played two seasons with the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round of the 1986 NFL Draft. Bryant played college footballat Texas A&M University 

1986 Cotton Bowl MVP

and attended Garrison High School in Garrison, Texas.[1] He was also a member of the Pittsburgh Gladiators of the Arena Football League. Domingo BryantNo. 23, 38Position:Defensive backPersonal informationBorn:December 8, 1963 (age 55) Nacogdoches, TexasHeight:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)Weight:178 lb (81 kg)Career informationHigh school:Garrison (TX)College:Texas A&MNFL Draft:1986 / Round: 6 / Pick: 148Career historyHouston Oilers (1987–1988)Pittsburgh Gladiators (1990)Career NFL statistics

 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, BunzT said:

The question is …….HS player. Not College and not Pro. Those stats should not be considered. Was Earl Campbells HS career better than David Overstreet's. It reall becomes very subjective.

You don't think Ken Houston was a stud in high school? ... I would put him up against any defense player listed based on his high school career ... leaving him off this list is laughable ...

  • Thanks 1
  • Stinks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

57 minutes ago, BunzT said:

The question is …….HS player. Not College and not Pro. Those stats should not be considered. Was Earl Campbells HS career better than David Overstreet's. It reall becomes very subjective.

Watch the video I posted, and all you need to watch is 9 minutes of it.  I grew up in the 70's, and no one, not no one was better than Earl with his legend.  He didn't even want to play running back, and he could play defense and special teams as noted above.  I heard about James Street of Longview when I was growing up, but no one compared to what Earl could do on all sides of the ball.  It didn't matter, he was a master of the game of football in East Texas.  

 

  • Like 2
  • Stinks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw Earl Campbell in high school, college and the NFL. He was awesome

I saw Billy Sims in high school, college and the NFL. He was awesome.

They were different types of runners. Both were all-state in high school. Both won the Heisman Trophy, and both were all-Pro in the NFL. Unless you were a fan of one, I don't see how you can say one was better than the other.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/1/2019 at 9:16 PM, DaveTV1 said:

Watch the video I posted, and all you need to watch is 9 minutes of it.  I grew up in the 70's, and no one, not no one was better than Earl with his legend.  He didn't even want to play running back, and he could play defense and special teams as noted above.  I heard about James Street of Longview when I was growing up, but no one compared to what Earl could do on all sides of the ball.  It didn't matter, he was a master of the game of football in East Texas.  

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Leaving Ken Houston off this list is as big of a blunder as leaving off Earl Campbell would have been ... I would rank him 2nd only to Campbell ... whoever made up this list needs to do their homework all over .... 

Edited by KirtFalcon
yo mama
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, BunzT said:

The question is …….HS player. Not College and not Pro. Those stats should not be considered. Was Earl Campbells HS career better than David Overstreet's. It reall becomes very subjective.

Wrong ... read the bios of the people they chose ... most of it is their college and pro accomplishments ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, BunzT said:

The question is …….HS player. Not College and not Pro. Those stats should not be considered. Was Earl Campbells HS career better than David Overstreet's. It reall becomes very subjective.

Usually you have to be very good in High School to even be recruited in college.  I don't know many players that didn't play High School ball, and receive a scholarship to play at the college level.  The only player I can think of that didn't play football in high school was Christian Okoye.  Bob Hayes was a backup running back in high school, and I thought of others, but all of them did.  Rico Gathers didn't in high school, but he did play in junior high.  I'm sure there may have been some players pre-1960 that did, but I don't know of any that did make it to the NFL.  I can't say for college, because I'm guessing there were thousands of walk ons that made it to the college level that did.  Most of the players that were listed did play high school football.  

I saw someone mention Bam Morris, and you have to realize that this is the Longview News Journal.  Most in the region feel that East Texas isn't as large as some want to make it.  With the old school definition of it Delta County is not considered the heart of East Texas.  There's a thread on that debate on SDC somewhere in the forums.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, KirtFalcon said:

Leaving Ken Houston off this list is as big of a blunder as leaving off Earl Campbell would have been ... I would rank him 2nd only to Campbell ... whoever made up this list needs to do their homework all over .... 

The way I see it if you were All State you could be in the mix or if you still hold high school football records.  Jake Smith of Tyler Bishop Gorman leads the East Texas area in passing with 11,906 yards passing all time, and he's not on the list.  G.J. Kinne of Canton/Gilmer isn't either.  Canton is as far as I go west when it comes to East Texas.  Trey Metoyer of Whitehouse leads in receiving with 259 receptions. There are more from the East Texas region, but they can all be found here :  https://www.texasfootball.com/records/?ref=subnav

Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, DaveTV1 said:

The way I see it if you were All State you could be in the mix or if you still hold high school football records.  Jake Smith of Tyler Bishop Gorman leads the East Texas area in passing with 11,906 yards passing all time, and he's not on the list.  G.J. Kinne of Canton/Gilmer isn't either.  Canton is as far as I go west when it comes to East Texas.  Trey Metoyer of Whitehouse leads in receiving with 259 receptions. There are more from the East Texas region, but they can all be found here :  https://www.texasfootball.com/records/?ref=subnav

Well if you are going to cut at All State , the next cut should be Parade All American. The most elite list in the country. How many ever from ET. Two I remember...Bobby Taylor Longview and Steve Stutsman DF.  Who Else ? How can you even have this discussion without mentioning Bobby Taylor. At any level.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, BunzT said:

Well if you are going to cut at All State , the next cut should be Parade All American. The most elite list in the country. How many ever from ET. Two I remember...Bobby Taylor Longview and Steve Stutsman DF.  Who Else ? How can you even have this discussion without mentioning Bobby Taylor. At any level.

I didn't see that published in the 70's for football. That's the problem with kids today, they don't know the history of high school football in East Texas.  I can't say I'm an expert on it either.  Most of the coverage I read during those times was from the LNJ, Dallas Times Herald, and Shreveport Times.  Those were the newspapers my Daddy subscribed to.  We don't see half the coverage of local sports in newspapers today vs. pre 1996 .  I do know that David Smoak would telecast the scores from across the State of Texas when he was with KLTV, and I always watched it to see scores and highlights of games.   

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The old school sports fans remember Van Thomas of the LNJ. The sports section was larger than most papers today. If you won a marble shooting contest Van would come take a picture of you and put it in the paper. It is kinda like Jerry Rice saying Jim Brown was the greatest football player ever. It is too subjective. Too much attention to offensive players and you leave a guy like Reggie White out.  Hell it is like asking DF fans to pick the greatest DF FB player. It would create a hell storm. Too many at too many positions to choose from.  Some were not around in the 60's and 70's .These debates never have a winner. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On October 1, 2019 at 8:39 PM, BunzT said:

The question is …….HS player. Not College and not Pro. Those stats should not be considered. Was Earl Campbells HS career better than David Overstreet's. It reall becomes very subjective.

And if you're just considering HS, how can you put anyone over Kenneth Hall.  Set the rushing  record 70 years ago and it still stands.   That's almost a record in itself.  But my pick is Earl Campbell.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/2/2019 at 12:11 AM, 68Hornet said:

I saw Earl Campbell in high school, college and the NFL. He was awesome

I saw Billy Sims in high school, college and the NFL. He was awesome.

They were different types of runners. Both were all-state in high school. Both won the Heisman Trophy, and both were all-Pro in the NFL. Unless you were a fan of one, I don't see how you can say one was better than the other.

It would probably be very hard to separate 1A Campbell 1B Simms and 1C David Overstreet in East Texas football RB lore

you'd be getting people then talking about Adrian Peterson and Edwin Simmons...though Simmons fizzled out with less than 1,000 yards total in Longhorn land. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Never saw Earl play in HS, but he’d be my pick as best pro RB, although I can think of several comparable.  Just a matter of personal choice.

I did work with a guy who played against Earl.  He’d went to some Htn area HS and they met in the playoffs.  He told me, “I was a LB and was a solid 210 (decent size in those days).  First time Earl broke through the line, I had a clean shot at him and when my shoulder hit his thigh, I bounced off like I’d slammed into a steel I-beam.  My head and shoulder hurt the rest of the game.”  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Smoaky unpinned this topic

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...