How Bijan Robinson's Lessons Helped Lead Jaydon Blue to Top of Longhorns RB Room

Texas Longhorns starting running back Jaydon Blue preached the wisdom of Bijan Robinson when asked about being able to become the Longhorns starting back.

Jan 1, 2024; New Orleans, LA, USA; Texas Longhorns running back Jaydon Blue (23) makes a catch during the fourth quarter against the Washington Huskies in the 2024 Sugar Bowl college football playoff semifinal game at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Patience is a virtue; a phrase that has defined the Texas Longhorns running back room over the last four years in Austin.

Newly elevated starting running back Jaydon Blue preached patience in one of his first media availabilities since the upsetting news of projected starter CJ Baxter's torn LCL, leaving him on the sideline for the entire 2024 season. Baxter, who now must wait another 13 months before he can take a college football snap, will have to practice what Blue talked about on Tuesday.

"Two years ago I was behind two guys who are in the NFL now. Even last year I was behind two guys that led that room and taught me the way it goes," Blue said. "Me taking on that role, it brings in a lot of confidence for the young guys in the room."

Texas running backs have been both cursed and blessed with the need to be patient before becoming a star in burnt orange. Even Bijan Robinson, who later turned into a top 10 NFL draft pick, had to wait for over half the season to become a starter despite being the best running back recruit in the nation.

Quickly, though, Robinson made others wait their turn. While he turned into one of the best running backs in the nation, and in Texas history, a few key guys played a role that brought the team success, even if it was out of the spotlight.

Roschon Johnson never became a starter with the Longhorns, but the former quarterback played well enough to get drafted in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, securing a comfortable life and a chance to win at the next level. Similarly, utility back Kielan Robinson never started after transferring from Alabama but played such a key role in wins against both Oklahoma schools that the Jaguars took a chance on him in the fifth round of this year.

But no player lives the phrase 'patience is a virtue' quite as well as Jonathon Brooks. Brooks was the lowest-rated primary running back recruit of Sarkisian's between the 2020 and 2024 classes, but that didn't waiver his confidence. Brooks took the time to wait, learning behind Robinson and Johnson, and got a chance to become a full-blown starter early last year.

Brooks took with it and ran, literally, all the way to becoming a top-three running back of the year before a torn ACL. Brooks will have to remain patient again before he can play meaningful snaps as a Carolina Panther, but the ability he showed gave them the confidence to make him the first running back drafted in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Texas Longhorns running back Jonathon Brooks jumps over BYU Cougars safety Crew Wakley in the third quarter at Royal-Memorial Stadium on Saturday October 28, 2023. / Jay Janner/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

So here sits Jaydon Blue, thrust into what would be an uncomfortable position by many. Everyone in Texas has some sort of take about you, the running back room, and what your ceiling is. Some are crowning you a Doak Walker winner before you've even taken a starting snap, while others want to drag the team's expectations down because the man ahead of him is now gone.

But Blue emphasized something he learned from Bijan, something many Texas fans should listen to before making snap judgments about a player, or the room before the season gets too far.

"The thing he told me was to always stay patient, let the game come to me," Blue said. "That was big for me, I was highly ranked coming out of high school and him telling me that taught me how to stay patient and just work and wait on my turn."

Some might forget just how sought-after Blue was in the 2022 cycle. The Houston native was 247Sports sixth-ranked running back, winning the Texas 6A Offensive MVP as a junior because of his insane outbursts on the ground, with over half of his games resulting in 200 or more yards. A player with that resume could easily get in his own head or want to leave when starting roles were not assured in his first three years, but that was not the culture instilled by Texas running back coach Tashard Choice.

"I always use (Brooks) as an example. He didn't play much in his first two years, played a lot last year, and he went to the league after one year," Blue said. "I always look back at that and it puts a lot of belief in me that if I stay patient and work, (I'll get) everything I want."

Blue's patience has likely paid off. Even though no one on that team wanted Baxter to go down, no player benefits as much as Jaydon Blue. In Sarkisian's first three seasons as a head coach, the starting running back saw a minimum of 180 carries and 1,100 yards, a mark that would've been hard to expect the junior to hit in tandem with Baxter.

Now, Blue is expected to carry a workload that he hasn't had since 2020 as a junior in high school. If the running back is as patient on the field as he is off, the Longhorns will be looking at its seventh player to rush for over 1,000 yards since 2000, continuing the legacy of a program making a case for RBU of the 2020s.