ARLINGTON, Texas – The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic has hosted more Outland Trophy winners than any other bowl game.
 
As the presenting sponsor of the Football Writers Association of America All-America Team, the Classic honors the six interior linemen that won the Outland Trophy and were recognized as All-Americans the year they played in the Cotton Bowl.
 
The Outland Trophy, now in its 75th year, is the third-oldest major college football award and annually honors the best interior lineman in college football. Jim Ridlon, the sculptor of the Outland Trophy, is a Cotton Bowl alum. He teamed up with the great Jim Brown in the Syracuse offensive backfield at the 1957 Classic.

Bud Brooks, Arkansas
Bud Brooks, one of Arkansas' "25 Little Pigs" during one of the most surprising seasons in school history, was the first Outland Trophy recipient to play in a Cotton Bowl Classic. During the 1954 season, he helped lead the Razorbacks to a Southwest Conference title and their second Cotton Bowl appearance all-time.
 
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Brooks was a dominant player on offense and defense in Coach Bowden Wyatt's schemes. Brooks could deliver crushing blocks in the team's Single Wing Offense. And on defense he could chase people down from anywhere because of his athleticism.
 
Arkansas teammate, lineman Eddie Bradford, said of Brooks, "He was as hard as steel. You didn't have weightlifting in those days...His biceps and shoulders just rippled. He had incredible speed."
 
Back-to-back victories over powerhouse Texas, 20-7, in Austin, and No. 5 Ole Miss, 6-0, in Little Rock, started the Hogs rolling to the SWC title and the right to play Georgia Tech in the Jan. 1, 1955 Cotton Bowl Classic. Arkansas scored first for a 6-0 lead at halftime in Dallas, but the Yellow Jackets rallied for a 14-6 victory in the second half.
 
Despite the loss to Georgia Tech, Brooks was named the outstanding lineman in the Cotton Bowl, prompting future Arkansas head coach Frank Broyles, then a Georgia Tech assistant, to gush about his play 50 years later. "He was like a linebacker out there," Broyles said to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Brooks' teammates were proud that the man they called "Big Bad Bud Brooks" claimed the Outland Trophy.
 
"It was big for us, the school, the state," said another Arkansas teammate, lineman Harold Steelman. "I was on the team with an Outland Trophy winner."
 
Scott Appleton, Texas
Scott Appleton, the 1963 Outland Trophy recipient, played in three Cotton Bowl Classics during the early Southwest Conference heydays of Coach Darrell Royal from 1961-63.
 
The three-time SWC champion Longhorns were 10-1 in Appleton's sophomore year, and then 9-1-1 when he was a junior. In Appleton's senior year of 1963, Texas rose to No. 1 after beating Oklahoma in which Appleton had 18 tackles and a forced fumble. Texas eventually finished a perfect season by beating No. 2 Navy, 28-6, in the 1964 Cotton Bowl Classic.
 
In that final game of his college career, Appleton led a UT defense that held Roger Staubach-led Navy to 25 points below its season average and minus-14 yards rushing. Appleton was named one of the two MVPs of the game and was later inducted into the Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame posthumously in 2001.
 
"In college, he was my role model, everything I wanted to be," said UT's 1965 Outland Trophy recipient Tommy Nobis, a sophomore when Appleton was a senior.
 
From a high school hero in Brady, Texas, to the star of the University of Texas' 1963 national title team, Appleton's life spiraled downward because of his addiction to alcohol following his father's sudden death post college. After being selected in the first rounds of both the NFL and AFL Drafts in 1964, Appleton, during five seasons, never reached the heights in professional football he did in college.
 
He recovered from his addiction, became a preacher, and had a mission in warning others about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. Suffering from heart disease, Appleton at first declined a heart transplant operation, but later was placed on the list for a donor heart. He died of heart failure in 1992 at age 50.
 
Brad Shearer, Texas
Defensive tackle Brad Shearer was a leader on one of the Longhorns' best defenses in history during the 1977 season when he claimed the Outland Trophy. On the way to a Southwest Conference title and a berth in the Cotton Bowl Classic, defensive-minded Texas held six opponents to 10 points or under, including three shutouts.
 
Shearer said the early contests that season were like "preseason" games when UT defeated Boston College, Virginia and Rice by a combined score of 184-15. The Longhorns cruised through a perfect regular season, which was Coach Fred Akers' first as UT's head coach. The defensive juggernaut held No. 2 Oklahoma to two field goals in a 13-6 victory when Shearer was matched against Oklahoma's standout guard Greg Roberts, who would claim the Outland Trophy in 1978. But Shearer won the 1977 duel with the Sooner standout. "I had one of my best games my senior year against him," Shearer said years later.
 
The next week, Shearer and Co. traveled to Arkansas and put another defensive whipping on the Razorbacks, 13-9, when Shearer was named Sports Illustrated's Defensive Player of the Week. He recovered a key fumble by Arkansas quarterback Scott Bull to kill a drive. The Longhorns limited the Razorbacks to just three field goals.
 
Entering the 1978 Cotton Bowl Classic, Texas hoped to complete a dream season with a victory over Notre Dame. But the Longhorns committed six turnovers, with the Fighting Irish capitalizing on five of them in a 38-10 Notre Dame victory. Twenty-three minutes into the game, UT trailed 24-3 and basically was out of it.  UT's Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell finished with 116 yards on 29 carries, but that performance was not enough.
 
"When you blow it, it's hard to live with that forever," said Shearer, Texas' third and most recent Outland Trophy recipient. "I don't think we turned it over that many times all year.  I don't care if they get the ball on the 5, it's your job to keep them out (of the end zone)."

Russell Maryland, Miami
The buildup for the 1991 Cotton Bowl Classic included a little pre-game incentive for defensive tackle Russell Maryland of the Miami Hurricanes. The 6-1 ½, 275-pound Maryland earlier accepted the 1990 Outland Trophy at a dinner in Los Angeles, gaining the attention of Texas offensive tackle Stan Thomas.
 
Maryland was set to play against Thomas on Jan. 1 in Dallas when the Hurricanes would face Southwest Conference champion Texas. One problem: Thomas believed Maryland had a trophy that he should own, even though Maryland had a highlight reel of great play during the 1990 regular season.
 
As a senior, Maryland registered 96 tackles (54 unassisted), 10.5 sacks (seven tackles for losses), 19 quarterback pressures, five forced fumbles and two broken-up passes.
 
"He (Thomas) said I should bring my Outland Trophy to the 50-yard line because I (Thomas) am going to take it," Maryland recalled reading in a Dallas newspaper article before the game. "…It fired me up, and it fired us up. At that point we weren't worried about how cold it was. We wanted to tear UT's heart out."
 
That's exactly what happened. The Hurricanes beat Texas, 46-3, in the frigid weather, with Maryland claiming Defensive Player of the Game honors when the Longhorns could muster only a field goal. It was a good audition for the 1991 NFL Draft, when Maryland was selected No. 1 overall by the Dallas Cowboys. His former college coach at Miami, Jimmy Johnson, was the Dallas Cowboys' coach who selected him.
 
Maryland wound up playing on three Super Bowl Champion teams in Dallas. "He (Johnson) knew what Russell Maryland was all about," Maryland said. "I think that (Cotton Bowl) game had a lot to do with me playing there."

John Henderson, Tennessee
Big John Henderson was not a part of Tennessee's national championship team on the field in 1998. He could only practice with the Volunteers and didn't receive a championship ring because he was ineligible as a freshman. That served as a motivation for the 6-foot-7, 290-pound Henderson, a Prop 48, who two years later would star for the Vols and play in the 2001 Cotton Bowl Classic as the reigning Outland Trophy recipient.
 
As a sophomore in 1999, Henderson moved from defensive end to defensive tackle and established himself as a starter. "It was a challenge," Henderson said of his developing career. "But it got me to where I am today." In his junior season, he piled up 12 sacks on the way to a Cotton Bowl Classic meeting against Kansas State. Henderson's Vols won six straight games before losing to the Wildcats, 35-21, in Dallas.
 
But Henderson had the Outland Trophy—Tennessee's first recipient since Steve DeLong in 1964—as a consolation prize. He beat out Nebraska's center Dominic Raiola and Texas offensive tackle Leonard Gray for the award. "I had a great year," he said. "I was real nervous (at the ESPN Awards Show). My heart stopped beating (when he won). Wow, what I am going to say?"
 
Henderson returned to Tennessee for his senior season when he was a finalist for the 2001 Outland Trophy, which was claimed by Miami (Florida) offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie. Selected ninth overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2002 NFL Draft, Henderson played 10 seasons in the NFL, eight with the Jaguars.

Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M
Offensive Tackle Luke Joeckel, the 2012 Outland Trophy recipient, was the standout protector for Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel, just a redshirt freshman during the 2013 Cotton Bowl Classic. Fresh off being named the top interior lineman in college football as a junior, Joeckel returned to his hometown of Arlington on Jan. 4, 2013 and teamed with Manziel in a 41-13 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners.
 
Manziel was named the Most Valuable Offensive Player of the Classic when the Aggie offense rolled up 633 total yards. He accounted for four touchdowns (two passing and two running) and 516 total yards in setting all sorts of offensive records. Joeckel had little time to marvel at the unpredictable, consummate dual-threat quarterback. "He was a wild one," Joeckel said. "You have to hold you block a little longer and play backyard football. Johnny's moving everywhere."
 
A 29-24 upset road victory over defending national champion Alabama was also a highlight of Texas A&M's 2012 season (11-2), which was Texas A&M's first year as a Southeastern Conference member. The Aggie' season was such a success Joeckel decided to leave for the NFL a year early and was selected No. 2 overall in the 2013 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
 
Recruited by Coach Mike Sherman to Texas A&M, the 6-6, 300-pound Joeckel was destined for stardom with the Aggies.
 
"He was as good a player as I've seen in high school for an offensive lineman," said Sherman, who was Joeckel's college coach prior to his junior season.  "He had big hands he wrapped around you (when you shook hands). His demeanor. You knew he was going to be good. Winning the Outland Trophy was something else."