Bijan and Roschon lead the way,
but who is behind them?
Texas has known commodities at the top two spots of its running back depth chart. Junior Bijan Robinson was selected as the Big 12 preseason offensive player of the year in recent weeks after his 1127-yard sophomore season. Senior Roschon Johnson missed out on the media’s preseason All-Big 12 team, but joined Robinson on the watch list for the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the nation’s top back.
Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has heaped mountains of praise on both Robinson and Johnson since the 2021 season ended. Not only has that duo performed on the field, they’ve done everything Sarkisian and his coaching staff believe is right off of the playing surface....
Keilan Robinson enters his second year in the Longhorn program. The Alabama transfer was third on the team in rushing yardage behind Bijan Robinson and Johnson with 322 yards on 45 carries. Following Bijan Robinson’s season ending injury versus Kansas, Keilan Robinson rushed for 111 yards and a score on nine carries in the game at West Virginia.
Keilan Robinson also plays a key role on special teams. His explosive quickness that was made evident a handful of times last year is useful not just in the return game, but also on punt block and other special teams units.
For Robinson to find more opportunities than that of a change-of-pace back, his hands need to improve. In 11 games last season, Robinson caught seven of the 10 passes intended for him. For as often as Sarkisian distributes the ball to running backs in the pass game, better hands are needed for him to be more than a wrinkle.
Contending for the third spot with Robinson is Johnathon Brooks. A standout at Hallettsville, Brooks rushed 21 times for 143 yards and a score last year, and played meaningful snaps versus Kansas when injury plagued the position. However, he too fell victim to injury and was lost for the year in that game....
Jaydon Blue elected to sit out his senior season at Klein Cain High School in the Houston area before enrolling at Texas. That raised eyebrows for those following his recruitment, but a fellow member of his running back room said Blue has acclimated himself well to college football....
Blue arrived at Texas with tremendous physical gifts as evidenced by his personal best 10.7 in the 100m. After taking a hiatus from competition, so far Blue has proven those gifts have translated to Texas.
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