John Varnell was a two-way all-district 6-4, 217-pound lineman for Plainview, Texas, High School, who decided to come to WT to play football for first-year head coach Joe Kerbel. By the time he finished his collegiate career, the Buffs had gone 22-17-1, highlighted by a 15-14 victory over Ohio University in the 1962 Sun Bowl, during Varnell's junior year.
Teammate and 1991 Hall of Champions inductee Charlie Daves said of the then-275 pounder, Varnell was "the first big, fast lineman to play at WT."
Varnell was a starter at defensive end most of his WT career and part of the 1962 team recorded three shutouts and allowed 115 points during the 9-2 season. In 1963 he was team captain and president of the Lettermen's Club.
After his senior season, he played in the Southwest Challenge Bowl in Corpus Christi, Texas, and the East-West Shrine Game in San Francisco, Calif. He was also invited to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. In 1964 during the AFL-NFL draft wars, Varnell was drafted in the third round by the AFL Houston Oilers and in the fourth round by the NFL Los Angeles Rams.
He signed with the Oilers and in 1964 played under coach Pop Ivy, but when legendary TCU and Washington Redskins quarterback Sammy Baugh took over the coaching reins, Varnell went to the Rams, but he hurt his neck in practice and never played for them.
After a year out of football and while working out in Canyon, Varnell was offered a signing bonus with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League before the 1966 season. The team finished 5-9 as he played several positions before a knee injury ended his playing career.
He was timed at 4.6 and 4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dashes by pro coaches who were amazed and "could not believe a guy that big could run [that fast]."
Varnell graduated from WT in May 1966 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education with minors in mathematics and English and received his Master's of Education in mathematics and physical education from Sul Ross State University in 1976. He was head coach at Springlake-Earth High School, Texas, and had coaching stints at Tulia, Big Spring, Ector High School in Odessa, Bishop College, and Jefferson and Spruce High Schools in Dallas, all the while teaching algebra and geometry. In 1996, he was selected for "Who's Who Among America's Teachers."
