After 2023's growing pains, CJ Baxter Jr. believes he "can just go in and play"

Entering the 2023 season, there was little doubt running back CJ Baxter Jr. had the physical skills needed to succeed at the position. Those skills translated into Baxter Jr. becoming the first true freshman running back to start Texas’ season opener since Ricky Williams did the same in 1995. Before Williams? Earl Campbell accomplished the feat back in 1974.

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But it takes more than physical skills to play running back. Baxter Jr. mentioned Thursday he struggled at the beginning of last season and was thinking more than doing because of the adjustment of learning a college offense.

“At Edgewater, I ran straight gap scheme runs,” Baxter said Thursday. “When I got here, I had to expand my horizons with (Steve Sarkisian)’s offense and run outside zone and inside zone.”

Lack of decisiveness was one issue. Durability was another. Baxter Jr. got hurt during the first two weeks of the season and ceded his carries to Jonathon Brooks.

Brooks enjoyed a standout, All-American caliber campaign before he got hurt against TCU and was lost for the year. Baxter Jr. took over most of the carries in the ensuing contests, tallying 51 carries for 269 yards and two touchdowns at 5.3 yards per tote. He scored in the Longhorns’ College Football Playoff matchup with Washington and ended the season with 138 carries for 659 yards and five rushing touchdowns.

The late-season opportunity gave Baxter Jr. the ability to develop not just his confidence, but his skill set.

“When JB went down, me, Jaydon (Blue), and the rest of the backs knew we had to step up and (play) a big part,” Baxter Jr. said. “What Jonathon did in the early part of the season was tremendous, the numbers he put up and the production he put up. When that (injury) happened, with me playing a lot I knew I had to step up.”

Here midway through the Longhorns’ spring practices, the opportunity to once again seize the role of RB1 is Baxter’s for the taking.

Waiting for an opportunity wasn’t a novel experience for Baxter Jr. On Thursday the Orlando native mentioned that as a freshman at Edgewater High School, he had to wait his turn behind Isaiah Connelly. Once Connelly went to Coastal Carolina, Baxter Jr. took over at running back.

Baxter Jr. sees a similar process ongoing now that Brooks awaits hearing his name called in the 2024 NFL Draft.

“When I look back, I was like ‘God did this on purpose,'” Baxter said. “He made me go through what I went through my freshman year and my freshman year of college because he was challenging me to see how I respond.”

So far, Baxter Jr. has responded well. He showed why he was rated as a five-star late last season after Tashard Choice levied lofty expectations on the Florida product.

And now, he’s working to continue to show why he was the top running back in his class. Baxter Jr. called remaining healthy his main focus during the current stretch of practices, a focus sure to carry over into the summer and preseason. He mentioned working on his pad level another point of emphasis considering he’s 6-foot-1 — tall for a running back.

Baxter Jr. has drawn inspiration from some of the all-time greats to accomplish that goal. He mentioned Thursday that his dad made him watch tape of Eric Dickerson when he was younger.

“I kind of had no choice but to look like him,” Baxter Jr. said.

Choice has also provided inspiration for Baxter Jr., offering tape of Edgerrin James and LaDainian Tomlinson. Thus far, applying lessons from those legends has helped Baxter Jr. earn more trust from Sarkisian as he looks to step in for Brooks during the Longhorns’ first season as members of the SEC.

“I think for CJ, obviously a very gifted player,” Sarkisian said March 25. “He’s got the size, the speed, he’s got great hands out of the backfield. The evolution for the runner is really two things. One is playing to your strengths. The size and speed that CJ has, I think his understanding and his ability to consistently run violent is a strength of his. When he does he is tough to get on the ground, and we’ve seen that first-hand.

“Two, naturally as the runner, as you grow especially in our system, is the pass protection stuff. It’s one thing to know what to do, it’s another to know how to do it, and it’s a third thing to apply it all in the moment. His growth there, we’ve seen it, but we’re always striving for more on that front.”

Baxter Jr. didn’t want to give himself a grade on pass protection, saying he feels like he’s improved but there’s more room to grow.

What he was happy to reveal was confidence in his ability to be the featured back for the Longhorns in the 2024 season.

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“I felt like last year was more thinking and trying to get my foot in,” Baxter Jr. said. “Now I feel like I can just go in and play.”