From Start to Finish
By Tim Clark, Media Relations Assistant

It's fourth down. Dusty Mangum trots onto the field and finds the precise location he would like the football to be held in its upright position. He marks the spot on the turf with his big toe and raises his chin. He takes one deep breath and paces two steps back and three to the left, then makes eye contact with his holder, Tony Jeffery, and signals with a simple nod that he is ready. The ball is snapped, the hold is fine and the kick is up, and, it's right down the middle. Perfect. Good. Both refs, situated directly beneath each post, acknowledge the obvious and raise two arms directly above their heads. At this point, an energetic and fired-up Mangum just can't hold it in any longer. He belts out "MONEY!" at the top of his lungs.

"That's my catch phrase," proclaims Mangum, whose teammates referred to him as 'Money Mangum' as a senior in high school. "I say it all the time. Right after the kick when I know it feels good. When I made a 48-yarder in the first game of the season against North Texas, my girlfriend knew exactly what I was saying before she even watched the replay."

Though the nickname 'Money Mangum' never really caught on at Texas, it's not because Mangum hasn't held up the money end of his catch phrase.

Invited to pre-season camp as a walk on by then-Texas defensive ends coach Hardee McCrary, Mangum not only earned a spot on the roster that summer, but, in late August of 2001, after a competitive battle with three other kickers – James Baker, David Pino and Dan Smith – for the starting job, found his name at the top of the depth chart three days before the opening of the 2001 campaign against New Mexico State at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

Handling kick-offs at the time, Mangum recalls how it felt that first time he heard the Texas canons blast at DKR following the inaugural kickoff of not only the Longhorns 2001 season, but what would be one of the most successful collegiate kicking careers in UT history.

"It was pretty cool," recalls Mangum. "I was also kicking off at the time, and to feel 85,000 fans going crazy and then to hear the canons go off after the kick was just incredible. I'll never forget that first game."

Mangum solidified his position that day – Sept. 1, 2001 – against Aggies, scoring a UT freshman record 11 points on two field goals and five extra points, vaulting the 18-year-old from Mesquite, Texas, into one of the best freshman kicking seasons on UT record. He drilled seven of his first seven attempts and a UT freshman record 16 field goals that season en route to Football Writer's Association of America 2001 freshman All-America honors.

"Dusty has been a great story for those young guys in high school," said head coach Mack Brown. "Here is a young guy with dreams in high school to play college football and decided to walk on. Since he hit that 50-yard field goal in high school, things have just continued to go up for him."

Now, four years later, as he prepares for the 91st Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, Calif., his final game in Burnt Orange and White, Mangum is the nation's fourth-leading active career scorer. He has played in 47 career games and will leave Texas' campus as its all-time scoring leader among kickers and with the third-highest career scoring total – only behind Ricky Williams and Cedric Benson – overall. He has connected on nearly 70 percent (.681) of his field goals in his career and has hit all four is his attempts from 50 yards or more. Mangum has been the definition of reliability, boasting consecutive PAT attempts of 121 and 67 straight, which rank first and second in school history.

Much like the job of a coach, the role of a place-kicker is just about as fickle as they come. So, how has Mangum remained Texas' 'go-to-guy' year in and year out? According to his teammates, he is a leader, and one who is extremely focused and passionate about his craft.

"He is a guy that has stayed really focused," remarked Jeffery, who has held for Mangum each of the last two seasons. "Dusty is an older guy on the team and a leader. I don't have to say too much to him because I know he is always aware of the situation and ready to go."

"Even though we are the same age and we came in together, I have always looked up to Dusty," said punter Richmond McGee. "He played as a true freshman while I redshirted, so he did things before I did and so I look up to him. Anytime I have struggled, he has always been there to give me some pointers or help in any way."

Perhaps these characteristics of leadership, experience and the ability to stay focused in the most pressure-filled situations are a few of the many intangibles needed to succeed in the field of place-kicking, but Mangum is quick to credit a character-building game during his sophomore season as one that created the tough skin needed to keep kicking. The game was against Oklahoma State in 2002. He missed three field goals, yet Texas prevailed.

"It was definitely the toughest game of my career," Mangum admits. "I missed three field goals and we barely won, 17-15, at DKR. Everybody was cussing me out and I was pretty upset, but after that game, I told myself, 'If I can deal with this, I can deal with anything.'"

To which fellow place-kicker David Pino respects and understands better than most.

"One of the things I have learned from Dusty is no matter what you just have to come back and kick," said Pino, Texas' backup place-kicker. "He has missed a few field goals and has always come back and kicked and that is not always as easy as it seems.

"But, he has been great to be around in the four years we have kicked together," Pino continued. "I do have to mention also the fact he does a few things to make you laugh – mainly his celebrations. Of course, it is fun to watch him make the field goals, but once that ball goes through the uprights and the refs signal that it's good, we're all like, 'here he goes.'"

"When he hits the big kick, I just pat him on the butt and let him do his thing," concluded Jeffery with a smile. "Sometimes, Dusty celebrates enough for the both of us."

Certainly excitable and sometimes noticeably animated, Mangum has earned what is arguably most important -- not only the trust of his coaches and teammates, but also the confidence of Texas fans. That trust was never more apparent than senior day, 2004, as Mangum capped off his own and Longhorns' regular season with an exclamation mark, trotting out close to midfield to attempt a career-long field goal from 52 yards against Texas A&M.

"There was no question, we all knew Dusty was going to make that kick," Brown said.

And, he did – just like Dusty Mangum, his head coach, and 83,891 Longhorn fans all knew he would.