Running back by committee works for Texas in week 1 win over Rice
AUSTIN — One of the most talked about position battles for Texas in the preseason was running back, with the Longhorns having some huge shoes to fill as stalwarts Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson are now plying their trade in the NFL.
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The Longhorns’ 37-10 win over Rice on Saturday did little to clear the water, as true freshman CJ Baxter and junior Jonathon Brooks, along with contributions from Jaydon Blue, made some plays to keep the Owls on their toes but none did enough to proclaim themselves as RB1.
It also showed that the manning the running back spot by committee is a viable option.
“I loved all of them,” Texas wide receiver Adonai Mitchell said about the running backs. “I’m not opposed to using them all. Oh, man, we got some ballers.”
Texas amassed 158 yards on the ground, with Blue (55 yards on 10 carries), Brooks (12 totes for 52 yards) and Baxter (five carries for 38 yards) accounting for 145 of those. Brooks also caught two passes for 42 yards that included a 37-yard touchdown. He also dropped a sure touchdown pass in the second quarter.
“All those guys did well,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “I mean, Jonathon, nice play on the screen for the touchdown on the reception. We ran the ball really effectively. You know, obviously Blue showed a lot of toughness today which sometimes it’s hard to tell in practice when you’re not tackling every day.
Sarkisian said afterward that his team did a good job of adjusting to the Rice defensive scheme and that was reflected in the success of the running game.
“One of the challenges in week 1 you never really know and when a team does something dramatically different than what’s on tape,” Sarkisian said. “You got to make those adjustments not just as a staff, but the players need to as well. I thought we found some rhythm in the running game and thought the protection got better as we went along.”
Baxter started the game and became the first true freshman to take the season’s first snap a at running for Texas since Ricky Williams against Hawaii in 1995. Twenty-eight years ago, Williams was what Baxter became and was the first true freshman to start a season opener at the position for the Longhorns since Earl Campbell in 1974.
But Baxter’s day was cut short on Saturday when he came down on the ball at the end of 32-yard second quarter run, leaving the game for good. After the contest, Sarkisian said he didn’t yet know the severity of Baxter’s injury or if he would be available for the Longhorns’ titanic clash with Alabama next week in Tuscaloosa.
“Hopefully we can get CJ back healthy and ready to go for next week and have all of those guys able to roll,” Sarkisian said. “They’re very versatile players that provide a lot to us offensively that we can utilize.”
