Texas head coach Tom Herman suddenly found himself with a plethora of talent at the running back position.
It’s certainly a great problem to have. Three different running backs have impressed the coaching staff throughout fall camp thus far to where there won’t be a clear-cut starter at the position.
Regardless of who receives the first carry against UTEP on Sept. 12, Herman plans to heavily use Roschon Johnson, Keaontay Ingram and freshman Bijan Robinson.
Many believed Ingram was penciled in as the starter for this season, but he suffered a hamstring injury during camp that hindered an important opportunity. Still, he’s the most experienced back on the roster and his production speaks for itself.
It appears the position group as a whole is now healthy, but Texas still plans to move forward with the running back-by-committee approach.
According to Horns247, Johnson looks to be the team’s best running back at the moment. As a true freshman in 2019, he moved from quarterback to running back during preseason camp. Johnson quickly adjusted to the position change and racked up 807 all-purpose yards. He’s now had a full offseason of training to improve his skill set as a running back.
Robinson also joined the fold as the No. 1 running back out of the 2020 recruiting class. The two-time Arizona Player of the Year arrived on campus with an impressive physical stature and maturity to contribute immediately as a freshman. He’s a true playmaker who possesses dangerous speed and great hands.
Each of the three have the talent to be the lead back at Texas. At this point, it may come down to the hot-hand approach during each particular game.
“You know those guys — all three of them — are going to play and play quite a bit and have different packages for them and, certainly as the game goes on, you’ll get a feel for who’s seeing the game well and who might be having an off night maybe here or there.” – Tom Herman
Although Herman believes it is irrelevant in terms of which running back jogs out their with the starters on the very first play, you can bet fans will be tuning in closely.