Texas Football: Top 15 all-time Longhorns quarterbacks

Top All-Time Texas Football Quarterbacks – Number 10: Alan Lowry (1970-72)

Career stats: 766 passing yards, 1 TD, 6 INTs, 39.3 completion %, 86.9 passer rating, 661 rushing yards, 11 rushing TDs

Realistically, Alan Lowry wasn’t the greatest of gunslingers — at least when it came to actually throwing the football. As you can tell by the stats above, tossing the pigskin wasn’t necessarily his strong suit. It was everything else that he excelled at during his days at Texas.

Lowry actually started his career with the Longhorns as a defensive back, quickly proving himself to be a premier playmaker on the other side of the ball. He also served as the team’s punter. Then, during his final year on campus, he made the jump to offense, taking over as the starting quarterback.

Now we must remember that these were the days when running the ball was the way Texas moved it down the field. Throwing was still a small part of the gameplan, which is why Lowry is considered such a standout despite his miserable passing numbers. The rushing totals, however, speak for themselves.

In his only year under center, Lowry led the Longhorns to a 10-1 record and third-ranked finish, culminating in a nail-biting Cotton Bowl win. He earned All-Southwest Conference honors, and was named the MVP of the Cotton Bowl. Put simply, it was an outstanding year for a player who hadn’t played quarterback since high school.

On top of all of that, Lowry was a star for the Texas baseball team. His efforts as a three-way player and two-sport star eventually landed him in the school’s Hall of Honor.