Mack Brown Curse

The Mack Brown Curse is a description used by college football fans to describe the misfortunes suffered by certain college football athletes . The term is applied to players who are recruited by the University of Texas at Austin Longhorns football team and show poor character in any form. Most commonly the recruit shows a great deal of interest in committing to Texas, possibly even verbally committing, then switches commitments to another school, sometimes displaying disrespect towards Coach Mack Brown and the Longhorn Football team.
The perceived impact on players afflicted with the Curse is a detrimental effect on their collegiate football career. Some players may have overall successful careers but not to their full potential, while others suffer various catastrophic failures such as academic dismissal, failure to meet athletic expectations or run ins with law enforcement.
Players who are recruited by the Longhorns and ultimately choose another university are not unilaterally considered to be subject to the curse. Many highly regarded high school recruits consider accepting scholarship offers from Texas and ultimately decide to attend other universities while being respectful to Coach Brown and the University of Texas. These players are typically regarded by the Longhorn faithful as well worthy of best wishes in their careers. It is players who display poor character and generate the feeling that the Texas recruitment effort has been lied to or used for the personal benefit of the recruit that the Texas fans point to as being jinxed.
Notable Players Associated with the Mack Brown Curse
Some notable players thought to have been affected by the curse include;
* Darrell Scott, considered the top running back of the 2008 recruiting year, initially provided a verbal commitment to Texas only to switch to the University of Colorado. Scott failed to perform to expectations and, after a injury shortened sophomore year, announced his intent to leave Colorado and return home to Southern California and seek other options.
* Rhett Bomar, universally regarded at the top high school quarterback for 2004 was strongly recruited by Texas and was widely considered to be an easy recruitment for the Longhorns. When Bomar committed to play for the University of Oklahoma, Texas' arch rival, many Texas fans were shocked and angered and questioned the decision. Bomar was dismissed by the Sooners in his Sophomore year for taking money from a booster that owned a car dealership , leading to the NCAA vacating several wins by the Oklahoma football team and costing the Sooners scholarships .
* Ryan Perrilloux: Following the loss of Bomar, Mack Brown again attempted to recruit a highly regarded quarterback in 2005 and Perrilloux was the focus. Perrilloux verbally committed to Texas early only to suddenly and shockingly announce he signed with Louisiana State University on National Signing Day. Perrilloux suffered many off of the field mishaps during his time at LSU and, following his sophomore year, was dismissed from the team. Perrilloux went on to play for Jacksonville State University and continued to suffer from off field incidents.
* Fred Rouse: Rouse, also in the same recruiting class as Perrilloux, was a 5-star wide receiver prospect and considered by most to be the top player in the nation at his position. During the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the 6'4" Rouse flashed the Hook 'em Horns sign after a touchdown reception. Since the Longhorns was one of his finalist schools, many believed this was him conveying the message that he had committed to Mack Brown and the University of Texas. However, Rouse, despite the Hook 'em sign and rampant rumors that he had committed to Texas, announced that he would attend Florida State University on National Signing Day. Rouse never made a splash, however, and was kicked off the Seminole team in January 2006. In May 2006, police discovered one of Rouse's team-issued football gloves while investigating a robbery at Rouse's former-teammate Lorenzo Booker's apartment. The police were able to trace the personalized receiver glove to Rouse, since it had Rouse's jersey number (ironically, #1) stitched into the wrist. Fred transferred to the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and ended his career at Concordia College, a school of 500 students that is not an FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III or NAIA program. After being compared to Randy Moss coming out of high school, the similarities appear to end with their height and the fact that both were dismissed from the Florida State football program.
* Adrian Peterson, a highly successful professional football player, was highly recruited by Mack Brown and initially showed a great deal of interest in playing for the flagship university from his home state of Texas. Peterson finally selected the University of Oklahoma in order to better his chances to win a national championship. The Sooners never won a national championship while Peterson played, while the Longhorns went on to win the 2005 National Championship game. While Peterson had an excellent career at OU, he was plagued by injuries that restricted his ability to play at his complete potential in college, and he failed to achieve his personal goals. While Adrian Peterson's character is generally highly regarded, including a lot of charity work in the NFL, from the perspective of Longhorn fans, any decision to attend Oklahoma over Texas is a sign of poor character due as much to Oklahoma's reputation as a renegade program as the normal intense rivalry between the schools. But due to his exemplary work with charities and demonstrated character versus most of the other players considered on this list, not to mention his tremendous success in the NFL, there is considerable debate as to whether or not Adrian Peterson is in fact a victim of The Curse or not.
Many other players have been indicated by the Texas fan base, including:
* Mitch Mustain
* Emmanuel Moody
* John Brantley
* Ryan Mallett
* Kyle Wright
* Kirby Freeman
* Zach Pianalto
* Lennon Creer
* Richetti Jones
* Lynn Katoa
* Ofa Mohetau
* Bobby Reid

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