Longhorns RB Room 'Hungry' To Prove Merrit Without Bijan Robinson

Just because Bijan Robinson isn't in Austin anymore, doesn't mean the Texas Longhorns running back room should be taken lightly.

Matt Galatzan | Aug 17, 2023

Longhorns RB Room 'Hungry' To Prove Merrit Without Bijan Robinson /

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Texas Longhorns

AUSTIN - The Texas Longhorns may not have Bijan Robinson or Roschon Johnson anymore, but that doesn't mean that the running game in Austin is going to be anything to laugh at.

In fact, with Alamo Bowl star Jonathan Brooks, all-purpose speedster Keilian Robinson ready to take a point, and young talents C.J. Baxter, Jaydon Blue, and Savion Red waiting in the wings for their shots at stardom, the running back room's overall talent, at least on paper, could be as good as it has ever been.

And according to Brooks, all five backs are hungry to prove just that.

“We’re all hungry,” Brooks said, “But we don’t care who starts. We’re all working. We’re not talking behind somebody’s back. We’re all in it together.”

But with so much talent in the room, one question continues to pop up - who will be the lead back?

After all, the 2022 version of the Longhorns was extremely reliant on Roschon and Bijan.

However, according to Keilian Robinson, all of the backs in the room are going to get their shot.

“It doesn’t matter how many bites somebody takes this season, everybody’s gonna get to eat,” Robinson said. “Everybody’s going to have their shot. That’s the way we look at it.”

Not the least of which, will be the five-star freshman Baxter, who has been impressing in camp thus far.

“(Tuesday) was his best practice," Robinson said of Baxter. "I’d say he’s becoming more confident and getting better every day.”

Texas fans will get their first look at the new Longhorns running back room on Sept 2. against the Rice Owls in Austin - which should be an ideal opportunity for all of the backs to 'eat'

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Published Aug 17, 2023

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.