Justin Cryer, the Longhorn linebacker now chasing a national title after joining Texas in the offseason, openly admits he wasn’t a fan of Texas football during his formative years. “Actually, no,” Cryer said this week, confirming his lack of interest. “I wasn’t. Around the time I started watching college football, they weren’t great.” He’s not wrong about those tough years either.
From Disinterest to Dominance
For a guy now aiming for the biggest prize in college football, it’s wild how little Cryer followed the burnt orange program when he was growing up. He skipped out because Texas was, to put it mildly, struggling. We’re talking about a rough stretch: five losing seasons in a dozen years starting in 2010. The Longhorns lost four or more games in a season for ten consecutive years, and twelve of the next thirteen. Yeah, Texas wasn’t *Texas* back then. That’s why Cryer, hailing from Royal High School near Katy, never seriously considered them before he went to Florida State for three seasons. But things are different now. Texas’s stock is absolutely soaring as a preseason top-five team in both major polls, and Cryer is right in the thick of it, trying to help make Texas great again.
The Diamond Dream That Almost Was
What’s even wilder? Football wasn’t even Cryer’s first love. It was baseball. He was a power-hitting first baseman and third baseman, always hoping to keep playing on the diamond in college. His dad, Lionel Cryer Sr., said he was a “baseball fanatic” who “could really smack it.” At just 12 or 13, Cryer nearly blasted twenty home runs in a single season! He even joked about being “maybe the next Freddie Freeman from the right side.” He actually enrolled in two summer school classes at Northwestern, one of the few places that would let him play both sports. But that dream got sidelined hard when a hazing scandal blew up and football coach Pat Fitzgerald got fired. So, with only Prairie View A&M and some smaller FCS schools recruiting him for baseball, Cryer headed to Tallahassee, Florida, and enrolled at Florida State.
Brotherly Inspiration & The Road Ahead
It seems athleticism runs deep in the Cryer family. Justin’s older brother, L.J. Cryer, is a hoops star who won a national title at Baylor and helped UH get to the brink of a championship in 2025. Their dad, who played linebacker at Grambling State and in the CFL, said L.J. was “super athletic” and could have played whatever he wanted, but always had a basketball in hand. That kind of championship drive clearly rubbed off. Now, Justin Cryer, the kid who wasn’t a Texas fan because they “weren’t great,” is a senior Longhorn linebacker with his own shot at glory. With Texas rolling as a preseason top-five team, Cryer’s journey from an unlikely prospect to a national title contender is defining the early part of their season. Every snap for the Longhorns is a step closer to seeing if he can help bring home that championship.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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