UTA FB History: Vol. 7 Gm. 13 - Ending on a Redundant High

 Like the start of this year's edition, the end of the 2023 edition of This Day in UTA Football History will end with a game that has already been covered. The 1972 Mavericks started the year 0-5, all five were blowouts with an average losing score of 34 to less than 15. Southern Mississippi, Oklahoma State, Toledo, TCU and Louisiana Tech were the victors.

In week six, the Mavericks traveled to Las Cruces and lost to New Mexico State 17-12. That close loss sparked a change in the rest of the season. Wins soon followed against Southwestern Louisiana, now Louisiana or Louisiana-Lafayette (7-0), at Abilene Christian (36-22), West Texas A&M (20-7) and at Lamar (10-3). A home date against Arkansas State remained and a win would earn the Mavericks second place in the conference.

All that was discussed more in detail in 2017. What wasn't discussed much was Maverick running back Dexter Bussey. He ultimately became one of the best Maverick running backs of all-time. Consider this: Bussey is fifth all-time in yards rushing (1,908) and carries (436), is fourth in touchdowns (16) and third in 100-yard games (9). He holds the single-game rushing record at 225, set against Abilene Christian. And he essentially did it at just two seasons of work.

Bussey transferred to UTA from Oklahoma after his freshman year. As a sophomore, he rushed for only 175 yards in 1971, a year where the Mavericks won only two games and scored an anemic 94. While 25 better than the prior year, that comes out to eight and a half points per game. Hardly an offense that kicked butt. 

Through the first five games, Bussey added only 67 yards to his career ledger. The junior transfer from one of the best football schools in the country was seemingly only a minor bit player. But that New Mexico State game changed the equation when he got his first 100-yard game. After those first five games, he went on a tear. I don't know if a different switch was made internally, it was a confidence thing, playing easier teams, learning something from playing harder teams, the coaches figured something out, the coaches got out of his way, or any combination. What I do know is he finished those final six games in 1972 with 795 more yards. That alone would have been a Maverick record, passing Danny Griffin's 770 from 1967. His 862 total was a new record and held for a year, when Bussey would get 871 in 1973. Derrick Jensen would break that only three years later. 

That stretch of six games may have been the most dominant any Maverick runner has been in such a short stretch. The resurgence may have vaulted Bussey to further heights. The Detroit Lions picked Bussey in the third round of the spring draft in 1974. Bussey played 11 years for the Lions and had three 1,000 yard seasons en route to a career 5,105 rushing yards and 6,721 yards from scrimmage. Bussey was moved to fullback when Billy Sims was drafted out of Oklahoma. After becoming the Lions all-time rusher in 1981, Sims took the honor in 1984, the year Bussey retired. There have been many Mavericks who had long careers in the NFL, but D.B. may have been the most productive at the highest level.

A 1979 Topps football card featuring Dexter Bussey

I can't help but wonder if Coach John Symank's handling of Bussey diminished his potential at UTA. The coach had three seasons as a Mav head man. His record of 11-21 sure is underwhelming. The lack of numbers for Bussey in the first half is certainly suspect considering what he did in the second half. But I don't think Bussey would have been good for 14 to 24 points that would have been needed to tie any of those games. But if he missed on NFL talent like Bussey, what else was he missing out on?

I often mention the Dean of UTA coaches, Harold "Bud" Elliott in these pages. I don't mention Symank near as much, partially because the sample size is quite a bit smaller than Elliott's. To be a quality coach, you have to be able to recruit, evaluate talent and be a football mind (or have someone on staff who can do those). Coach Elliott got talent to UTA, and I'd say generally, with some exceptions, got the most out of those players. There's not a lot of evidence either way regarding Symank above.

The school was enamored with his background. He was a former Arlington State JuCo player, went to Florida his last two years before playing in the NFL for seven years, becoming a champion with the Green Bay Packers in the early 1960's.

He began a coaching career as an assistant in the college ranks for one-year for two teams each, then went to the NFL as an assistant for three years for one team. Then he helmed Northern Arizona for two years. His win loss record is mixed, a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde result of 7-3 and 2-8 before coming to UTA. The school was enamored with his connection to the school, NFL experience and playing under Vince Lombardi.

After UTA, he became an NFL assistant again for roughly a decade before becoming an assistant for LSU. He never became a head coach again. So the lack of any head coaching experience, despite another decade and a half of coaching shows he either didn't want to take the reigns again or no one wanted him to do so.

But how do you not get a legitimate NFL talent to produce for a year and a half? 1972 was proof that he could do it. The first half and the second half were the same team, no injuries, mid-season redshirt or any other explanation for a turnaround. Even against tough competition, a guy who averaged 78 yards rushing a game for the year (159 over the last five) should have done better than 13.4 yards against tougher schools. On the surface, that sure seems like the head man issue.

Considering it took Coach Elliott three years to make the Mavs competitive, there seemed to be some dry cupboards for recruiting talent. 1976 was the first year since '69 the Mavs/Rebels scored more than they gave up. Symank left on his own accord too. If he knew the talent wasn't there, it would make sense. All the indicators point to a bad hire for the head job. Not sure what the options were, but this one seems off.

But, as far as this day in UTA history is concerned, UTA battled for second place in the Southland Conference in the home finale against Arkansas State in 1972.

Taken from the Fort Worth Star Telegram, November 26, 1972.