Georgia football legend Scott Woerner was almost a Texas Longhorn.
Woerner was born in Texas and while he played high school football in Jonesboro, he actually came within minutes of committing to be a Longhorn.
A quarterback in high school, Woerner said he was on his official visit to Austin, Texas, during his senior year in 1976. Texas was finishing up a tough season, going 5-5-1, and was facing Arkansas in the finale. Before the game, Woerner was in the Longhorns locker room talking with coach Darrell Royal.
“He was telling me about running the option and whether I pitched the ball with my fingers or my palm,’’ said Woerner. “My uncle lived right outside Austin and I really wanted to come to Texas. They told me before the game I had a scholarship at Texas. I was ready to go there.’’
But a funny thing happened after the Longhorns beat the Razorbacks, 29-12.
Royal stepped up on a podium at Texas Memorial Stadium and announced his retirement after 20 years with the Longhorns. He finished with a 167-47-5 record, three national championships and 11 Southwest Conference titles.
“I was like, whoa,’’ said Woerner. “After seeing that coach Royal was not going to be the head coach anymore, there was no doubt that I was going to Georgia. The Bulldogs and Texas were the only teams that didn’t promise me anything under the table.’’
In 1976, Woerner was ranked by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as the top senior in the state and was being heavily recruited by nearly everyone, including Bear Bryant and Alabama.
“I remember (offensive coordinator) Mal Moore at Alabama taking me in a room and putting a 16-millimeter projector on and showing me tape of the wishbone (offense) and how he felt I could run it for them,’’ he said. “He thought I would be fabulous running the option.
“But there was no way I was going to Alabama. My family knew too many people from Texas A&M when the Bear was there and how he treated the players there. I just decided I lived in Georgia and was going to stay in Georgia.’’
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