Always on the Run : The Baker's Dozen of UT Running Backs

Discussion in 'On The Field' started by Billy Dale, May 27, 2023.

  1. Billy Dale

    Billy Dale The History of Longhorn Sports through 2014

    ALWAYS ON THE RUN: THE BAKER'S DOZEN OF UT RB'S
    BY LARRY CARLSON ( LC13@TXSTATE.EDU )


    ALWAYS ON THE RUN: THE BAKER'S DOZEN OF UT RB'S
    BY LARRY CARLSON ( LC13@TXSTATE.EDU )
    If you're honest, even though you're burnt orange-blooded, you can't really contend that UT is RBU.
    There's a case for Southern Cal. Five Heisman winners among the Trojan hosses at running back.
    So what if one ended up more famous for a Ford Bronco chase and another was stripped of the honor and now stars in Wendy's commercials. Let's call USC the closest thing to an inarguable RBU. Bama hasn't been too shabby, especially of late. And Penn State has a pretty good menu of ground chuck.
    But the Longhorns are definitely in the mix, up in the high-end neighborhood to stake a claim to top tier.
    Actually, to say that the University of Texas has had a wealth of talent at running the ball over the years, might be considered mild understatement. The modern DKR era onward got rolling with the flip-flop, transitioned to the grinding, clock-killing, three yards and a cloud of dust focus, then shifted to the ultra-successful wishbone for two natties and six straight Southwest Conference titles. And that was all ancient BC...before Campbell, usually known just as Earl.
    And ol' Earl played his last game in burnt orange more than 45 years ago.
    There have been more than a few stud running backs -- speedsters, bruisers, and hybrids -- since then.
    For many Longhorn football fanatics and historians, it might seem simple enough to get a consensus on a top three ballcarriers in the 1957-onward time frame.
    I'm gonna say right off, this list wasn't easy for me to decide on. There are former UT stars who achieved more in the NFL than in college ball (think Priest Holmes as exhibit A), there are guys who had their college days shortened by injuries, there are all kinds of variables. And I'm not going by stats alone.
    I'm gonna go back to the early '90s and dedicate Lenny Kravitz's funk/rock classic, "Always On The Run," to anybody and everybody who has ever carried the ball for the Horns. Here's my best Baker's Dozen.
    It's just an opinion, a list, nothing more.
    Somebody had to do it. But go ahead, play the home version of the game and compile your own list, too.
    Have fun. It was a treat to watch the gents listed below and many more runnin' Horns.
    The link is https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/best-longhorn-running...eric metcalf.jpg Ford with Appleton.jpg
     

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