Texas A&M football: 30 greatest players of all-time
By Jeff Shull
Stats – 25 career sacks, 350 career tackles
Accolades – All-American in 1983 and 1984, All-Southwest Conference in 1983 and 1984
Team signature moment – Winning the one and only bowl appearance during his time on campus
Ray Childress is one of a few players who dominated in college and took that success into a long and successful career at the pro level. During his time in Aggieland, though, he was especially dominant.
Childress was a force on the defensive line. He had 117 tackles and 15 sacks as a junior, then as a senior, he recorded 124 tackles and 10 sacks. His 360 tackles then ranked fourth on A&M’s career list. He was named an All-American for his efforts in both 1983 and 1984
Childress now ranks fifth all-time in both career tackles and career sacks. He was inducted into the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
A fun tidbit about Childress: It is now against NCAA rules to send life-sized posters to recruits because Jackie Sherrill was sending posters of Childress in the mail.
He would go on to be the No. 3 overall pick in the 1985 NFL Draft by the then-Houston Oilers, two spots behind Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Smith. Childress was All-Pro six times, was selected to the Pro Bowl five times and set an NFL record with three fumble recoveries in the same game. He is credited with 76.5 sacks and 19 forced fumbles.