Brooks, Robinson strong bets to shore up Texas running attack

The Texas Longhorns are doomed.

Bijan Robinson has left the building and has taken Roschon Johnson with him. And now Texas is a complete mess because that pair took 5,600 career rushing yards and a ton of credibility with them.

Surely, the ground game is going off a cliff.

Wrong.

We’ve all heard it ever since one of the greatest running backs in school history and a sidekick who was mighty good in his own right left for the NFL: They left the Longhorns' rushing attack in shambles. The problem is it just isn’t true.

Texas should be fine. Trust me. (I think.)

A talented group of runners, an emerging, big, experienced offensive line that should be one of the nation’s best, and a commitment by the coaching staff to showcase a balanced, multidimensional offense should dispel all thoughts that Texas will be lucky to run for a first down in 2023.

It’s true the Longhorns have lost their security blanket. Now coach Steve Sarkisian has to cobble together an effective running attack out of four players who have started just four games among them. 

One of those starts came when Keilan Robinson lined up first for the Longhorns in the Alamo Bowl last December with Robinson and Johnson sitting out to protect themselves from potential injury. Yeah, it didn’t go all that well. Texas managed just 51 yards rushing, with no run longer than 7 yards. Ouch.

The current foursome has produced just two career 100-yard games for the Longhorns, one of which came when Jonathon Brooks topped the century mark in a runaway victory over Kansas. Bijan went for 243 yards in that game, making it the 40th time in school history that two or more Texas backs had run for 100 or more.

Of the low expectations for the ground game, Brooks said: “I hear that, obviously based on Bijan’s a great running back. But we’re all different running backs. I just go into the facility every day, going to work my hardest and try to get 1% better every day.”

Whoever gets the nod as Texas’ feature back against Rice on Sept. 2 will probably have to do better than 1% to pose a potent threat on the ground.

Texas is still sorting things out

Asked Friday whether he's seen enough separation to name a starter, Sarkisian said: "No, we're not there yet. They need another day tomorrow. I do know this: We've got plenty of guys that can play, and that's a positive."

Odds are that Brooks, a third-year sophomore who was a terror for playoff regular Hallettsville in high school with more than 3,800 yards and 70 touchdowns, will win the job. He’s a 6-foot, 204-pounder who sat out the spring game after hernia surgery. He's soft-spoken and wears braids and a goatee.

Keilan Robinson offers speed and lots of it. True freshman CJ Baxter has the look of the total package. Jaydon Blue, we just haven’t seen enough from. Brooks, too, is the complete three-down back.

“I’ve never been like a power back,” Brooks said. “I would just try to make the first guy miss and just get downhill.”

Brooks has had only 51 carries in his first two seasons, just 30 of them last year, although he produced 197 yards and scored five times. But, hey, he’s got a lot of tread on those tires. 

“He’s a great back,” quarterback Quinn Ewers said of Brooks. “He’s a fresh back and hasn’t taken a whole lot of hits. I see a guy who wants to play football. He’s super bright and has big ol’ legs. He’s an all-around back.”

Robinson, the fastest back on the team but small and very light, will probably remain the change-of-pace option, a regular and a budding monster on all four special teams, and a back with a nose for the end zone.

“I feel like I’m always at least one step or two steps ahead of my defender,” Robinson said. “Yeah, I’ve always had a knack to find the end zone from whenever I started playing football to now.”

Since transferring from Alabama, he’s scored seven times, but he’s also blocked a punt for a safety and returned another blocked punt for a touchdown, and he could well be this year’s version of Roschon Johnson on special teams.

Blue, a redshirt freshman, offers a good blend of speed and power, and Baxter, the five-star freshman recruit out of Orlando, Fla., has been dazzling at times. They could also push for a starting nod, but head coaches generally don’t trust underclassmen easily because they’re not always adept at pass protection.

Honing in on what the Longhorns need

History isn’t always on Texas’ side. A year after D’Onta Foreman ravaged Big 12 defenses for 2,028 yards in 2016, the Longhorns barely averaged 140 yards rushing, and it was a quarterback, Sam Ehlinger, who led the team with 524 yards before sacks. Neither Daniel Young nor Chris Warren II topped 373.

What’s the one quality that Sarkisian is emphasizing among his criteria for finding a starting tailback?

“Toughness,” Robinson said. “I would say you got to be tough to run the ball, especially here.”

Does Sarkisian even want a No. 1 running back when a committee could produce the same results?

The answer is yes, but only if Brooks or someone separates himself from the pack and shows he can carry the load.

“I just want the team to win, whether that’s me getting five carries or 20 carries,” Brooks said. “It doesn’t matter to me. I want to win.”

Robinson has the same approach.

“I mean, the way we see it, everybody is going to eat,” Robinson said. “Like it doesn’t matter how many bites somebody takes because everybody’s going to eat in some kind of way.”

Looking to the future

Sarkisian and running backs coach Tashard Choice just want someone to eat up yardage and move the chains so Ewers doesn’t feel the burden of having to do it all himself. And Brooks is starting to assert himself with a stronger voice.

“JB has always been a natural runner of the football,” Robinson said. “He has definitely taken a big step in leadership this year. He’s just taking the reins and is becoming a better leader day by day. He’s on the leadership committee.”

Last year’s team didn’t get it done in an 8-5 season. And in spite of Robinson’s greatness as the school’s fourth Doak Walker Award winner, Texas still averaged only 188 yards on the ground and ranked a solid but not spectacular 34th nationally. 

While national champion Georgia ran for 205 yards a game and others such as Ole Miss and Michigan were routinely putting up 240 yards or more each Saturday, Texas was often stopped in its tracks behind a raw line and an inconsistent quarterback.

“The offense pretty much looks the same,” Robinson said. “Honestly. There’s a lot more people touching the ball now, but everybody’s still making the plays.”

Bijan Robinson will no longer be one of those touching the ball, but Texas has plenty of talented newcomers who will.