Texas football: 5 most underrated players in Texas Longhorns history

As with Kiki DeAyala, fellow Texas linebacker Britt Hager‘s accomplishments may eventually get lost to time. Though neither won any major awards while at Texas, being at the top of the record books in a few key statistical categories prove their names have had staying power in Texas football lore. DeAyala could get after the quarterback, while Hager was a tackling machine.

Hager played a few years after DeAyala, as his Texas career began in 1984. He played four years in Austin. By the time he left for the NFL, Hager was the most prolific tackler in program history. Yes, he put together some phenomenal seasons while at Texas. Hager overtook Doug Shankle as Texas’ all-time leader in 1988 when he broke his own school record with 195 tackles in a season.

Hager ended up with 499 career tackles while at Texas. To date, only five players have ever had that many. Derrick Johnson came the closest recently with 458 in his Texas career. What’s even more astounding is Hager’s 1987 mark of 187 and his 1988 mark of 195 remain the two most in school history. Jordan Hicks came close recently with 147 in 2014.

Hager would go on to be a third-round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1989 NFL Draft. He spent his first six NFL seasons playing in the City of Brotherly Love. Then in 1995, he played for the Denver Broncos for two seasons before playing his last NFL with the then-St. Louis Rams in the 1997 campaign.