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Senior running back Daniel Young is back with the Texas Longhorns football team during offseason conditioning and will participate in spring practice, which begins next Tuesday, a Texas spokesperson confirmed to Burnt Orange Nation on Tuesday.
Young’s status was unclear with the hire of Steve Sarkisian — he opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns and hadn’t made any announcements about his return on Twitter.
A Houston Westfield product and one-time Houston commit, Young became a member of the 2017 Texas class after Tom Herman took the job in Austin and offered Young. As a freshman, Young played in all 13 games, emerging from a mess of a position room to start the final five games, carrying the ball 81 times for 373 yards and three touchdowns. In the passing game, Young added 13 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown.
With arrivals of the state’s No. 1 running back in 2018, Carthage’s Keaontay Ingram, and Cal running back transfer Tre Watson, Young served as the late-game or short-yardage back with 42 carries for 153 yards, but lost playing time after fumbling in the third quarter against USC when Texas was up by eight points. USC recovered and scored a touchdown five plays later.
As a junior in 2019, Young suffered an ankle injury in preseason camp, part of a rash of injuries at the position, and missed the first two games. He carried the ball four times for 16 yards and caught two passes for seven yards in his return against Rice, but largely played on special teams until rushing for a touchdown on the last play against Baylor and receiving eight carries for 41 yards and a touchdown against Texas Tech in the final regular season game.
Expect the 6’0, 215-pounder to start spring practice as the No. 3 running back behind Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson. The lone 2021 signee at the position, Hallettsville’s Jonathon Brooks, will arrive on campus as a summer enrollee.
Of the four players to opt out for the 2020 season, offensive lineman Willie Tyler and defensive end Marqez Bimage are both in the NCAA transfer portal, but wide receiver Dajon Harrison is with the team.