The 2025 Texas football running back room was the worst of Steve Sarkisian’s tenure — a head coach whose playbook is built around the run game.
It ranked No. 11 among Southeastern Conference competitors, with no running back totaling more than 600 yards throughout the season’s duration. During conference play specifically, the Longhorns ranked 10th in the SEC in rushing yards per game.
In response to the subpar performance, Sarkisian did what many adequately funded modern-era coaches are expected to do when their team has a weak spot: explore alternative options to strengthen it before it becomes a pattern.
“At the end of the day, it’s trying to put a room together that suits who we want to be and who we’ve been in years past, and then who we want to be moving forward,” Sarkisian said. “Then you’ve got to make it try to come to life.”
Former running backs Quintrevion Wisner, CJ Baxter, Jerrick Gibson and Christian Clark packed their bags and headed for the transfer portal, clearing space for a group composed almost entirely of new incoming freshmen and high profile transfers.
Sarkisian’s running back quest has been headlined by his acquisition of Arizona State junior Raleek Brown and NC State sophomore Hollywood Smothers.
Each of the two experienced ball carriers were ranked within 247Sports’ top running backs in the transfer portal, and one of their new teammates has already noticed their talents during spring practices.
“(Brown is) very small, very shifty,” junior running back Ryan Niblett said. “He can get in and out of the hole really fast. … And Hollywood — he’s very smart. He’s not slow(ing) the game down.”
Another running back who could see significant playing time in 2026 is incoming freshman Derrek Cooper. Ranked by 247Sports as the No. 10 running back in the country and No. 17 overall prospect in Florida, Cooper chose the Longhorns from a list of over 30 offers.
“He’s come in further along than maybe most high school running backs,” Sarkisian said of Cooper. “I don’t ever (feel) like our practice field has been too big for him. He takes the ball. He runs when he has opportunities to make plays.”
Sarkisian also pointed out that he has a few returners who people might overlook growing into more prominent roles as the spring progresses.
“As much as we talk about those first three guys — Hollywood and Raleek and Derrek — who we’ve been talking a lot about, that doesn’t diminish Ryan Niblett, Michael Terry (III), James Simon,” Sarkisian said. “Those guys are growing in their role too.”
With five months standing between now and Texas’s Week one matchup against the Texas State Bobcats, Sarkisian and new running backs coach Jabbar Juluke have plenty of time to further analyze the Longhorns’ rushing situation.
It remains unclear what the room will look like depth chart-wise, but fans will have to familiarize themselves with several new names of players who could receive handoffs from quarterback Arch Manning this upcoming season.
