Greg McElroy defends his ranking of Quintrevion Wisner on Top 10 college football running back list

Earlier this month, Greg McElroy predicted Texas‘ Quintrevion Wisner to be the No. 7 running back in the country in the upcoming season. The ESPN analyst wasn’t shy to explain himself, either.

“He hasn’t been given anything,” McElroy said. “This is a young man that started his career in special teams. He was great as a true freshman in special teams. I think you look at the running back [room] and you wonder exactly how he was going to fit in last year. You had CJ Baxter, you had Jaydon Blue. Those two guys were ahead of Wisner in the running back room, but Wisner just kept his head down and kept working.

“Baxter gets hurt in the preseason. Jaydon Blue, early in the season, was struggling putting the ball on the deck. So ball security was a bit of an issue, which means Wisner finally gets his chance, and sure enough, it was an outstanding season, nonetheless.”

Wisner made 15 appearances for the Longhorns last season. He his sophomore campaign with 226 carries for 1,064 yards and five touchdowns. Wisner also reeled in 44 catches for 311 yards and a score.

While Texas fans quickly took notice of Wisner’s excellent play, the running back broke onto the national radar for his back-to-back performances in late November. In Texas’ 31-14 win over Kentucky on Nov. 23, Wisner erupted for 158 rushing yards and touchdown.

Only a week later, Wisner rattled off a career-high 186 rushing yards against in-state rival Texas A&M. For his efforts last season, Wisner was named an All-SEC Third-Team selection. Earlier this offseason, Wisner reflected on his breakout performance against the Aggies.

“It was truly a blessing to be out there,” Wisner said. “Me being a Texas kid, I didn’t really know a lot about the rivalry between Texas A&M and Texas. Just to learn more about the rivalry going into the game, and to be able to go out there and put on a show for my family and friends back home, and then for my teammates that I went out there and played with, it was definitely a true blessing.”

Wisner is expected to be a forefront of Texas’ rushing attack again this season. He’ll be far from the only weapon in the Longhorns’ backfield.

“The backfield will be better, in some degree,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said in April. “We got two guys coming off of injuries in CJ Baxter and Christian Clark, and we really think highly of both of them

“We have a 1,000-yard rusher coming back, Tre Wisner, and we have a true freshman kid who’s going to be a sophomore in Jerrick Gibson, who played some really significant meaningful snaps in some big games. And so I feel really good about the running back room.”