One of Duane Akina’s favorite days as a coach is when the incoming freshmen officially move in every summer. He smiles on the inside as moms and dads brag about their sons and boast about their upcoming exploits. They’d tell the seasoned defensive backs coach how fast Little Jimmy was or how quickly he’d break into the starting lineup. Akina respected the confidence. 

Something different happened when Michael Huff moved onto the Forty Acres in the summer of 2001. The Irving native was more track star than football phenom. He wasn’t highly recruited. He didn’t come with a bunch of star rankings or press clippings. And his father knew it. 

“His dad looked at me and said, ‘Well, he’s really fast and really smart, but he’s not a very good football player. See what you can do with him,’” Akina remembered with a laugh. “He left the best defensive back in college football.”  

Huff was a self-admitted “track guy” growing up in Irving, outside of Dallas. He started running competitively at 5 years old. He lettered four times in track and was heavily recruited as a sprinter after clocking a 10.1 in the 100 meters.

He flew under the radar on the gridiron. Purdue was his only offer as his senior year at Nimitz ended and that was to play wide receiver - a position Huff never played because Nimitz ran a Wing-T offense that never threw the ball. His future was in running, not catching or tackling. 

“I walked off the field after my last game as a senior in high school thinking that was the last time I’d ever play football,” Huff said a day after being named as a member of the College Football Hall of Fame class of 2025. “I ended up taking a visit to Texas in December and that’s when Coach (Mack) Brown told me I could run track and play football for the Longhorns.”

Huff began his career at Texas at a cornerback on the scout team as a redshirt freshman. He practiced against Roy Williams and B.J. Thomas and Sloane Thomas every day as he cut his teeth in a crowded secondary that included Quentin Jammer, Nathan Vasher, Rod Babers, and Ahmad Brooks. 

Huff was recruited because of his speed. He became a starter at safety as a redshirt freshman because of his football IQ. In high school, Huff began falling in love with football and with the idea of team. Track was a selfish endeavor at its core. Football is the most team-oriented sport on the planet. 

He felt the same way about cornerback. Huff was on an island in 1-on-1 matchups when he played cornerback. At safety, he could read the field. Watch the whole play. Huff was late to football, but he was a natural. One that arrived at Texas “without any bad habits to break,” according to Akina. 

Some guys run a 4.3 in the 40-yard dash but play like a 4.6 because they can’t read the field. Some run a 4.6 but play at a 4.3 speed because of their football acumen. 

Huff was the rare player who ran a 4.3 and was smart enough to play at a 4.3. That makes magic. It eventually led him to the Thorpe Award and a multiple-year career in the NFL, but not without a learning curve. 

“Our only question about Huff was if he’d be physical enough at the college level,” Brown admitted. “We knew he could cover, but would he be physical enough to transition to safety. Akina pushed him hard, and to Michael’s credit, he took every bit of that coaching and became a legend.” 

That physicality was tested against Arkansas in the fall of 2003 during Huff’s sophomore season. The Razorbacks ran for 265 yards and four rushing touchdowns in the 38-28 victory in Austin – the only home loss Huff suffered in his four years starting for the Longhorns. He struggled against the physicality and running style of Cedric Cobbs and Matt Jones, and he was benched for the following game against Rice. 

Huff rebounded and attacked his weakness with Akina leading the way with extra tackling drills, some that wouldn’t be legal today, they both joke. Huff regained his starting position and helped lead the Longhorns to the national championship game against USC in the 2005 Rose Bowl. Along the way he developed an alter ego named Willie Jenkins. 

Akina always thought Huff was too nice on the football field. He’d tell his young pupil that he needed to become someone else on the football field. So, it came as a surprise to Akina when a referee told him that it was Huff who was flagged for a personal foul penalty against Oklahoma State. Akina subbed out Huff to read him the riot act, but Huff denied that it was him at fault. 

“He said, “That wasn’t me coach. That was Willie, Willie Jenkins, my alter ego,” Akina recounted. “I had to turn around so he didn’t see the smile on my face. I told him to get back out there and to tell Willie to calm down.” 

Everyone remembers the Vince Young touchdown on fourth-and-5 to win the game, but fewer people talk about the defense’s fourth down stop of LenDale White to give Texas and VY the ball and a chance at its first national championship in 35 years. 

Texas trailed 38-33 with 2:13 left in the fourth quarter when USC lined up in an offset I-formation for a fourth-and-2 on the Texas 44-yard line. Trojan running back Lindale White was unstoppable in short-yardage situations leading into that snap. And there was Huff, lined up like a linebacker in the second level of the defense a long way from the sophomore who struggled with physicality. 

Huff, now a Thorpe Award winner, met the pulling USC tight end in the hole, stacked up the point of attack, and helped bring down White at the line of scrimmage to save the season and give Young his chance at immortality. 

But Huff won’t brag about that play. Or his career. Ask him about the Thorpe Award and he’ll talk about his teammates. Ask him about his upcoming Hall of Fame induction and he’ll give the credit to Brown and Akina. Ask him about his natural talents or toughness and he’ll talk about his parents. As fast as Huff was in track, he’s as quick to shoot down praise. 

“I texted him to congratulate him on the Hall of Fame induction and he told me that he wouldn’t be here without me,” Brown said. “But I told him, ‘Michael, I wouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame without you.’ We decided that we both probably needed each other. But that’s him. He always did the right thing and did what was best for his teammates.” 

Huff is back at Texas helping mentor the next crop of Longhorn legends as the assistant director of player development. He let Jahdae Barron wear his No. 7 jersey ahead of his senior season on the Forty Acres. Barron did Huff proud, winning the Thorpe Award and leading one of the nation’s best secondaries to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. Huff, who is now married with two daughters, thinks the players he’s helping are doing more for him than he is for them. True to form. 

“I love it, man. I get to be me, no suit and tie,” Huff said about his current role. “I try to be big bro for these guys. I’m in the locker room wrestling, fighting, talking trash, just having fun. Those guys give me my daily dose of testosterone. It’s all about giving back to the place that gave so much to me.”