A farewell to Texas football legend Terry Tausch

Former Texas offensive lineman Terry Tausch passed away this week. He was 61.

Tausch, a four-year letterman at Texas (1978-1982) who earned All-America honors in 1980 and 1981, was a native of nearby New Braunfels. He was recruited by legendary Longhorns coach Darrel Royal. As a junior, Tausch was named a Football News All-American. He also earned All-Southwest Conference honors in each of his final seasons as a Longhorn.

In 2001, he was inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor.

“Terry and I had a very special relationship,” said Lawrence Sampleton, a longtime friend of Tausch who played tight end during their time at Texas. “He grew up in New Braunfels, and I grew up in Seguin, and we were archrivals in high school. He’s a year older than I am, but I had known of him since middle school. Terry was a great guy. He was a big guy, but he was a soft-spoken man and just really cared about everybody. He was a gentle kind of leader who worked hard every day and was a great example for all of us younger guys.”

During Tausch’s senior season, the 1981 Longhorns posted a 10-1-1 record and were ranked No. 2 nationally by the Associated Press following their 14-12 win over the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide in the Cotton Bowl.

In the 1982 NFL Draft, Tausch was selected in the second round (39th overall) by the Minnesota Vikings, where he’d go on to play for seven season, starting 68 of 81 outings. He added a final season to his professional career in 1989 with the San Francisco 49ers.