Cotten, a legendary figure in football, has passed away.
Today, May 28, 2024 | Football
Cotten, a legendary figure in football, has passed away.
A member of the Texas Athletics Hall of Honour, Cotten was a quarterback who was selected for All-Southwest Conference honours and was responsible for directing Darrell Royal’s renowned Flip-Flop offence.
The passing of Mike Cotten, a former football player at the University of Texas from 1959 to 1961 and an entrant into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honour in 1981, occurred on Saturday following a brief bout with sickness. The age of the man was 84.
He was a two-year starter at quarterback and was honoured with All-Southwest Conference honours in 1961. Cotten was a native of Austin and was born in Uvalde, Texas, on December 12, 1939. He guided Darrell Royal’s famous Flip-Flop offence during his time as a professional quarterback.
Cotten was a lifelong Longhorn, and after graduating from Austin High School, he never considered attending any other higher education institution or went to any other campus. During that time period, he was even a neighbour of Royal in the city of Austin.
Cotten entered at Texas and immediately led the freshmen team to an unbeaten season, which was a first for that squad since 1941. This accomplishment came after he had guided the Austin High Maroons to the semifinals of the state championship contest.
It was the next year, in 1959, that he made the transition from junior high to varsity football. He played defensive back and split the quarterbacking duties with Bobby Lackey on a team that finished with a record of 9–2, shared the SWC championship, and finished fourth in the nation before losing to Syracuse in the Cotton Bowl.
In 1960, while he was a junior, he took over as the starting quarterback for the team. Despite the fact that the squad finished with a record of 7-3, they were able to win against No. 11 Baylor and end the season with a draw against No. 9 Alabama in the Bluebonnet Bowl. That year, he was the leader of the team in terms of both scoring and total offence.
As a senior in 1961, he was voted to the position of co-captain alongside Don Talbert. He was also in charge of Royal’s renowned offence, which was considered to be one of the most powerful attacks in the history of the Southwest Conference. Despite the fact that a big percentage of their offence was based on the running game, which was led by All-American tailback James Saxton, Cotten was always the best team player and he only wanted to win.
With seven touchdown passes, Cotten led the Southwestern Conference in passing touchdowns. Following the Cotton Bowl in 1962, he was voted the game’s Outstanding Player due to his performance in leading Texas to a victory over No. 5 Ole Miss by a score of 12-7. This led in him receiving praise for his performances. The Longhorns finished their season with a record of 10-1, during which they were ranked first in the nation for the majority of the year until they were defeated by TCU by a score of 6-0.
Although he was an amazing field general, passer, and runner, the most significant contribution that Cotten made to the success of the Longhorns was arguably his leadership. He gave the squad with both guidance and morale, which was especially important in the team’s victory in its last two games after the upset, which resulted in the team being ranked third overall.
Over the course of two seasons as the starting quarterback, Cotten finished with a record of 17-4-1. He also won every game he played against the school’s rivals, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
As a student at the University of Texas, Cotten majored in government, and he knew from the moment he arrived in Texas that he wanted to become a lawyer. In 1962, he enrolled at the University of Texas Law School, from which he graduated in 1965. In 1968, after serving as a captain in the United States Marine Corps for a period of three years, during which time he was stationed in Vietnam, Cotten joined the law firm of Clark and Thomas. Soon after, that company became known as Clark, Thomas, Winters & Shapiro, and in 1975, Cotten joined the firm as a partner.
Additionally, in addition to being a member of the Hall of Honour, Cotten was one of the initial members of the Stadium Veterans Committee, which was established in the year 1996.
His daughters, Ashley Putman of Austin and Lesley Childress of Jackson, Mississippi, are the only ones who will remember him after his passing.
