A lot of questions surrounded the Texas offense heading into the year. The running back room was not one of them.
Bijan Robinson was always going to be a star after his breakout freshman season. However, he cannot take every carry and expect to perform at a high level or stay healthy. Having incredible depth behind him has been key so far in Steve Sarkisian’s offense.
Roschon Johnson was the known commodity. The former quarterback has been a fan favorite for the past two years. His tough, physical style of running has and will continue to be a staple in the run game.
The nice surprise has been Alabama transfer, Keilan Robinson. When Sarkisian has used the do it all back, the offense has been moving. In the three wins, he has averaged 55.3 yards and has a touchdown. Not bad for an RB2.
Even true freshman Jonathan Brooks has been moving well in garbage time against Rice and Texas Tech. The Texas High School legend is averaging 6.9 yards per carry.
Check out the stats from all four here. Even though Robinson has more carries than the other three combined, their yard per carry shows how valuable their touches have been.
#Texas RB’s are eating this year:
— Bijan Robinson – 70 carries at 6.2 YPC (426 yards)
— Roschon Johnson – 25 carries at 8.2 YPC (205 yards)
— Keilan Robinson – 23 carries at 7.6 YPC (175 yards)
— Jonathon Brooks – 16 carries at 6.9 YPC (110 yards)— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_TFB) September 27, 2021
Recruits are beginning to notice as well. Four-star running back and Texas commit Jaylon Blue tweeted out his satisfaction with how Sarkisian is using the running backs four games into the season.
Y’all ask me why I went to Texas? Almost every rb with touches and even a lot of them scored. Put running backs in position to not just run the ball, but find other ways to put the ball in rb hands. Best head coach and running back coach in college football 🤘🏾
— 23🏈 (@JaydonBlue) September 25, 2021
Going forward, Bijan’s big-play ability will continue to be the key in Sarkisian’s play calling. However, whenever he needs to take a breather, Johnson and Keilan will be ready.
All of the running backs will be effective in the passing game too. Casey Thompson finds them out of the backfield often and we saw that with Bijan’s touchdown against Texas Tech this weekend.
Keep finding No. 2, No. 5, and No. 7, and the points will continue to be put on the board.
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