For many years, it has been hard to believe that the school that gave us Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams has been so deficient on the running back front. Surely there would be some phenomenal high school running back or a dozen in the state of Texas that would be ready to throw on the burnt orange, wouldn’t there?
The last notable Longhorn in the backfield was Jamaal Charles in 2007. Since then, the Longhorn backfield has remained pretty anemic. One hundred yard games were a thing of the past. It has been a long time since I have been able to report that the University Of Texas Longhorns have a running game.
Until now.
No, really. It isn’t an aberration of some sort. It’s not a mirage that happens to exist in the center of DKR Memorial Stadium these days. It is a true, smash-mouth, running game.
We have seen signs of this brewing all season. It was building steadily through the Kansas game, but hey, that was Kansas. After a 52 – 20 pounding of Texas Tech, you have to start to think that maybe, just maybe, the running attack is back.
How could it not be? Check out the running backs these days. Let’s go through the list: Fozzy Whittaker, Cody Johnson, D.J. Monroe, Jeremy Hills … and don’t forget the true freshmen Joe Bergeron and Malcolm Brown. It seems like every time you turn around, there is another more-than-capable athlete being handed the ball in the backfield.
It is a nice problem for the Longhorns to have, one that hasn’t existed in quite some time. If we think the running game is good, wait for a year or so. These kids can play!
David Ash continues to develop in his “offense management” skills. It has been a slow yet steady process. I think that Ash is the on-the-field leader that the Horns have been seeking. But with that said, we don’t have much of a passing game these days. I just hope that the lack of a passing attack doesn’t come back to haunt us. You may live by the run, but you can die by the run as well. Somewhere along the line, some team is going to take the run away from us. It is inevitable. Let’s just hope that Ash continues to develop so that by the time that moment arrives – and it will sometime before this season ends – he’s ready to step in and throw 20 or 25 passes instead of his current 7 or 8 passes.
Until then, Longhorn fans, enjoy it while we’ve got it. The Horns are back to being bowl-eligible after a one year hiatus. Perhaps more importantly, the future looks brighter every day.
Photo credits: abesselink
Up to 60% of runners will sustain an injury within any given year. Poor running mechanics, in conjunction with poor, ineffective and outdated training methods, can pose a significant injury risk. "RunSmart" was written to address these issues in the running community.
"Running Injuries: Etiology And Recovery- Based Treatment" (co-author Bridget Clark, PT) appears in the third edition and fourth editions of "Clinical Orthopaedic Rehabilitation: A Team Approach" by Charles Giangarra, MD and Robert C. Manske, PT.
Allan Besselink, PT, DPT, Ph.D., Dip.MDT has a unique voice in the world of sports, education, and health care. Read more about Allan here.
Top 5 finalist in three categories: "Best Overall Blog", "Best PT Blog" and "Best Advocacy Blog".
PO Box 26161
Austin, TX 78755
512-222-6263
