Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, Vice Sports called then-Texas Longhorns quarterback Jerrod Heard the “most important player in college football.”
As a redshirt freshman, Heard had just set a single-game school record for total offense with 527 yards, besting even the most prolific performance by Longhorn legend Vince Young. A 45-yard touchdown run with less than two minutes to play electrified the home crowd in Austin and should have tied the game. Alas, Nick Rose missed the extra point and Texas lost.
Then Heard quickly lost that patina of savior at a position that still hasn’t experienced much success since Colt McCoy left the field at the Rose Bowl in early 2010 against Alabama in the national championship game.