Texas Football: 3 most disappointing Longhorns QB’s since 2010

1. Garrett Gilbert

Any list that comprises of the most disappointing Longhorns at any position since 2000 (let alone within the last decade) is going to have the former elite five-star quarterback recruit Garrett Gilbert. As one of the most highly regarded recruits coming out of high school in recent memory for the Longhorns, Gilbert was likely thrown into the fire too soon.

Gilbert was an elite five-star pro-style quarterback recruit during the 2009 recruiting cycle, that hailed from Lake Travis High School in Austin. He ranked as the nation’s No. 13 2009 high school prospect, No. 2 pro-style quarterback, and No. 3 prospect out of Texas (247Sports Composite). The only pro-style quarterback recruit that ranked higher than Gilbert in 2009 was the eventual USC Trojans signee Matt Barkley.

Moreover, Gilbert was tossed out to the wolves right away during his time on the Forty Acres. Once McCoy was knocked out against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the BCS National Championship Game to cap the 2009 season, Gilbert got his first significant game action. And it didn’t go well as he tallied up two passing touchdowns and four interceptions in an eventual Texas loss.

There were still hefty expectations for Gilbert heading into the 2010 season. He wound up leading a Longhorns team that didn’t even get bowl eligible, while tossing 10 touchdowns and a whopping 17 interceptions. Gilbert registered more turnovers than total touchdowns in 2010. Two years later he transferred to SMU, and at least found more success in the last two years of his college career (50 total touchdowns/22 interceptions).