{"id":49567,"date":"2023-08-21T13:00:29","date_gmt":"2023-08-21T17:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=49567"},"modified":"2025-09-13T15:54:52","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T19:54:52","slug":"2023-texas-running-backs-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2023\/08\/21\/2023-texas-running-backs-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"2023 Texas Running Backs Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

Losing two running backs to the NFL is plenty of reason to worry for the Texas Longhorns, and the returning stable of backs is young and inexperienced. \u00a0Texas running backs make up the thinnest position on the team aside from the linebackers.\u00a0 Unlike the linebacker corps, there\u2019s not a player like Jaylan Ford<\/a> who\u2019s head and shoulders above his peers.\u00a0 What the Longhorns do have coming back is a group of ball carriers brimming with potential.<\/p>\n

Texas enjoyed a productive running back tandem last season thanks to Bijan Robinson<\/strong> and Roschon Johnson<\/strong>.\u00a0 Robinson was drafted in the first round by the Atlanta Falcons, and Johnson was picked up by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round.\u00a0 Robinson and Johnson marshaled Texas through last year\u2019s 8-5 campaign.\u00a0 The Longhorns are expected to win the Big 12<\/a>, and to do so they need the new backfield to get up to speed quickly.\u00a0 This is the 2023 class of running backs that has emerged.<\/p>\n

Outlining the 2023 Texas Running Backs<\/h2>\n

5. Ky Woods, Sophomore<\/h3>\n

This is your guy if you like all-purpose backs. Ky Woods<\/a> was a second-team Class 6A All-State player coming out of Clear Springs High School near Houston.\u00a0 He can run, catch, and return kicks.\u00a0 The five-foot-nine-inch, 175-pound dynamo showed up in the Spring game with a 35-yard catch and carried the ball five times for 21 yards.\u00a0 He\u2019s a shifty scatback about to make his college debut after not seeing action last season.<\/p>\n

Woods can provide the versatility to keep the game plan ticking for Offensive Coordinator Kyle Flood<\/strong>.\u00a0 The sophomore must prove he can handle the rigors of college football.\u00a0 He was named District Ironman in high school because he was on the field almost all the time, so that should count for something.<\/p>\n

4. Jaydon Blue, Sophomore<\/h3>\n

Jaydon Blue<\/a> is another product of the greater Houston area.\u00a0 He skipped his final season of high school and played in nine games last year as a freshman.\u00a0 The high levels of production from Robinson and Johnson limited Blue to 15 carries and 33 yards.<\/p>\n

There were reports in the offseason that Blue was considering whether to enter the transfer portal.\u00a0 He opted to stick with the Longhorns and appears ready to move up the depth chart. \u00a0He had 10 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown in the Spring game, which was the best performance by a running back in the scrimmage.\u00a0 His combination of size (6’0″, 190 pounds) and speed makes him an interesting prospect who came out of high school as one of the best prep runners in the nation.<\/p>\n

3. Keilan Robinson, Senior<\/h3>\n

The lone senior in the running backs room is the glue that holds it together.\u00a0 Keilan Robinson<\/a> has played in 24 games for Texas since transferring from Alabama after the 2020 season.\u00a0 During a press conference, he said the loss of two players to the NFL could spread the workload among the running backs this year, and nobody has a problem with it.\u00a0 \u201cThe way we see it, everybody\u2019s going to eat,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter how many bites somebody takes.\u00a0 Everybody\u2019s going to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson has proved he can do it all.\u00a0 He can run with the ball, catch it, and is an effective kick and punt returner.\u00a0 He also returned a blocked punt for a touchdown last year against Louisiana-Monroe.\u00a0 It seems a sure bet he\u2019ll get more touches as a running back this season.<\/p>\n

2. CJ Baxter, Freshman<\/h3>\n

You know a player is special when he earns a nickname before ever playing a college game, and C4 is no exception.\u00a0 Baxter checks in at six-foot-one-inch and 218 pounds, and he appears ready to step onto the field right away as a true freshman.<\/p>\n

Texas fans have been abuzz about Baxter since he enrolled in time for Spring ball.\u00a0 He carried the ball 11 times for 28 yards and a touchdown in the Spring game.\u00a0 His performance during Fall camp has fueled the hype even further.\u00a0 By all accounts coming out of Austin, he\u2019s ready to play and make an impact.<\/p>\n

1. Jonathon Brooks, Sophomore<\/h3>\n

This is the leader of the Texas running backs.\u00a0 Jonathon Brooks<\/a> is coming into his third year at Texas after playing in seven games last year as a redshirt freshman.\u00a0 He\u2019s won over Head Coach Steve Sarkisian<\/strong> with his consistency and dedication.\u00a0 Brooks waited his turn behind the dynamic duo of Robinson and Johnson, and now he\u2019s the starter.<\/p>\n

He earned playing time almost right away after a very good prep career at Class 3A Hallettsville.\u00a0 Brooks was highly regarded coming out of high school despite playing at a small school.\u00a0 Now the number one running back at Texas, he preaches the team mentality. He said to the media,\u00a0 \u201cI just want the team to win.\u00a0 Whether that\u2019s me getting five carries, 20 carries, it doesn\u2019t matter to me.\u00a0 I want to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Photo courtesy: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Losing two running backs to the NFL is plenty of reason to worry for the Texas Longhorns, and the returning stable of backs is young and inexperienced. \u00a0Texas running backs make up the thinnest position on the team aside from the linebackers.\u00a0 Unlike the linebacker corps, there\u2019s not a player like Jaylan Ford who\u2019s head […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4486,"featured_media":49573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,2,35576],"tags":[4780,5864,10419,9897,7388,5095,204],"class_list":["post-49567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-big12","category-featured","category-texas-longhorns","tag-big-12-football","tag-bijan-robinson","tag-cj-baxter","tag-kyle-flood","tag-roschon-johnson","tag-steve-sarkisian","tag-texas-longhorns"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4486"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49567"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49567\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79478,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49567\/revisions\/79478"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}