Over the history of the Texas Longhorns football program, they have put some of the very best running backs from Earl Campbell to Eric Metcalf to Ricky Williams to Cedric Benson to Jamaal Charles on the field at Darrel K. Royal-Memorial Stadium. There are many more that could be listed but you get the point, playing running back at University of Texas has launched many careers to the NFL.
The 2020 team is no exception. The Longhorns signed the number one running back in the nation with Bijan Robinson. Robinson won’t be in spring camp since he won’t officially enroll at Texas until the fall. He has had quite the winter with his appearance in the All-American Bowl in San Antonio and the Polynesian Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Balance, speed, vision, hands. Robinson has it all and that is why the Arizona product was ranked as the number one running back in the nation. While Bijan won’t be part of the spring football workouts and spring game, he is still one the backs to watch when he steps foot on the Forty Acres this fall.
Keaontay Ingram
The incumbent starter, Keaontay Ingram finished his second season for the Longhorns. Ingram rushed the ball just two times more in 2019 than he did in 2018 for a total of 145 yards more. His total yards from scrimmage increased from 878 yards to 1,095 as he became more of an option in the passing game.
The former four-star back from Carthage, Texas has the leg up on the starting role given how he has performed for the Longhorns. The soon to be junior running back did split time with Roschon Johnson this season with a Ingram getting more carries by a narrow margin.
Roschon Johnson
Johnson showed that he is the ultimate teammate in 2019. Following the injury to Jordan Whittington, Roschon made the switch to running back. He was listed on the depth chart as the second running back and third quarterback. The dual-threat is living up to the moniker as he is a threat to play two separate positions. It wouldn’t be surprising if Johnson could also help out at the wide receiver spot as well.
Roschon finished his first season at Texas with 146 touches, 807 yards and eight scores. Most of those numbers coming on the ground when asked to spell Ingram. Roschon should get more looks at running back in 2020 and during the spring based on how well he adapted this past season.
Jordan Whittington
Jordan Whittington brought a lot of hype with him to Austin in 2019, unfortunately that was short-lived with his injury that robbed him of his freshman season. After suffering an injury against Louisiana Tech early on in the season, Whittington was shut down after two receptions for 17 yards. In 2020, a lot will be expected of him. He was listed as one of ESPN’s Top 25 breakout players in 2020.
Whittington was a star running back in high school and he could very well find himself in the mix at both running back and wide receiver come the fall. The Longhorns are going to have to find ways to replace the production of Devin Duvernay and Collin Johnson who left for the NFL after graduating.
For Texas the running back room is suddenly chock full of talent and the best part is that new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich will have plenty of options at his disposal for 2020.