Julius Whittier

Julius Whittier. "He Came Before Us. He Left a Legacy". , Julius Whittier (Texas Football: 1969-72) became a historically significant figure as the first African American to receive a four-year football scholarship, and the first to letter in football, at Texas. A star student-athlete at San Antonio's Highlands High School, he was identified during the recruiting process as a young man who could handle the enormous pressure and public attention that would come with being a prominent African American student-athlete at The University of Texas., A standout on the freshman team in 1969, Whittier earned three letters from 1970-72 and played on three-straight Southwest Conference Championship teams, including the Longhorns 1970 National Championship squad. He was Inducted Into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor in 2013., Whitter never saw himself as a maverick, but more as part of a team that exhibited greatness on the field and off. He considered his legendary coach, Darrell Royal, his "dad from another pad," in that Royal was a disciplinarian who presented a fair opportunity to those who understood his goals. Whittier matured, benefited from that discipline, and developed as a football player and person., Although athletics was Whittier's passion, he looked beyond that in the pursuit of knowledge. After graduating with a degree in philosophy, at the urging of Royal's friend, President Lyndon Baines Johnson, he earned a degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, and a UT law degree. He went on to a distinguished legal career as a prosecutor in the Dalles County District Attorney's office., Whittier left a legacy that reflected a pioneer, whose perseverance opened the door, not only for himself, but for those who followed.