No. 1 Texas Football trio named to Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award watch list

No. 1/1 Texas Football’s CJ Baxter, DeAndre Moore Jr. and Quintrevion Wisner were recognized on the preseason watch list for the 2025 Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce and SPORTyler announced Wednesday. 

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The award, which is named after 1977 Heisman Trophy winner and Longhorn Legend Earl Campbell, recognizes the top offensive player in Division I football who also exhibits the enduring characteristics that define Earl Campbell: integrity, performance, teamwork, sportsmanship, drive, community and tenacity; specifically, tenacity to persist and determination to overcome adversity and injury in pursuit of reaching goals. In addition, the nominee must meet one or more of the following criteria: Played football at and graduated from a Texas High School and/or currently playing at Texas D1 four-year college.

Last season, former Longhorn quarterback Quinn Ewers and tight end Gunnar Helm were semifinalists for the award. Texas running back Jonathan Brooks was recognized as a finalist for the award in 2023 while running back Bijan Robinson was also named a finalist for the honor in 2022. Running back D’Onta Foreman took home the award in 2016.

Baxter, who was tabbed to the Comeback Player of the Year Award watch list on Aug. 19, has also been placed on the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award for the second-consecutive season. Baxter is a sophomore running back from Orlando, Fla., who has played in 12 games with six starts in three seasons. As a true freshman in 2023, Baxter earned a second-team All-America nod by The Athletic, Freshman All-American Honorable mention by College Football Network, and honorable mention All-Big 12 honors, in addition to being honorable mention Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year. Baxter also received preseason second-team All-SEC accolades on offense in July. In his first season on the 40 Acres, Baxter ran the ball 138 times for 659 yards (4.8 ypc) and five touchdowns while also catching 24 passes for 156 yards. His 659 rushing yards are the 12th-most for a Longhorn freshman in program history. Making the start at running back in Texas’ season-opening victory against Rice on Sept. 2, 2023, he became the first true freshman running back to start for the Longhorns since Ricky Williams in 1995. In a win versus Kansas State, he had 10 carries for 90 yards and one touchdown, including a 54-yard run. In the road victory at Iowa State, he established career highs in carries (20), rushing yards (117) and receptions (5), recording the first 100-yard rushing performance of his career. In the College Football Playoff semifinal against No. 2 Washington in the Sugar Bowl, he rushed nine times for 64 yards (7.1ypc) and one touchdown, while hauling in two passes for 39 yards, including a career-long 31-yard reception.

Moore is a third-year wide receiver who has played in 25 games with nine starts. The Anaheim, Calif., product finished the season with 39 receptions for 456 yards and seven scores, averaging 11.7 yards per catch. As a sophomore, he totaled two 100-yard receiving games. In UT’s SEC opener against Mississippi State on Sept. 28, 2024, he snared four receptions for 104 yards and a career-high two touchdowns. He put together his second 100-yard receiving effort after grabbing a career-high nine receptions for a career-high 114 yards and a score in the SEC Championship vs. Georgia on Dec. 7, 2024. He came close to another 100-yard performance in Texas’ road victory at Vanderbilt (10/26/2024), gathering six catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns. 

Wisner is a third-year player who has competed in 29 career games with 12 starts, garnering 2024 Third-Team All-SEC praise, 2025 preseason First-Team All-SEC recognition by the media and coaches while claiming a spot on the preseason watch lists for the 2025 Maxwell and Doak Walker awards. As a sophomore in 2024, he played in 15 games with 12 starts and rushed for a team-leading 1,064 yards and five touchdowns on 226 carries (4.7 ypc). The Glenn Heights, Texas, product had the third-most receptions on the team, hauling in 44 catches for 411 yards (7.1 ypc) and a score. The 44 receptions were the second-most in a single-season by a UT running back, while the 411 receiving yards were the third-most. Altogether, he accumulated 1,375 all-purpose yards and accounted for six touchdowns during his sophomore season. He pieced together four 100-yard rushing performances with all four coming against SEC or CFP opponents. Additionally, he’s the only returning 1,000-yard rusher in the SEC going into 2025 season.

The watch list will be narrowed to up to 16 semifinalists in November and then up to five finalists in December. They will be selected by broadcasters, commentators, journalists, fans, and previous winners. The winner will be announced in December and celebrated at The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Banquet scheduled for Jan. 21, 2026, in Tyler, Texas.

Texas opens the 2025 season on the road at No. 3/2 Ohio State at 11 a.m. CT Saturday, Aug. 30, inside Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The game will broadcast as part of FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff, and ESPN’s College GameDay will broadcast live from the Ohio State University campus. College GameDay will air for three hours from 8-11 a.m. CT, hosted by Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban, Kirk Herbstreit and other ESPN personalities. It will be the final show for longtime ESPN personality Lee Corso as he is set to retire following Week 1 of the 2025 season.

(via Texas release)