Deep Dive into the Texas Longhorns' 2021 Quarterback Race: Part IV - Roschon Johnson

The current Texas running back seems like a longshot to return to quarterback, but it's something to keep an eye on.

Texas has stacked its quarterback room with high-caliber talent in hopes of avoiding the kind of predicament the team experienced at the position through much of the last decade.

Texas head coach Tom Herman has made it a point to take two capable signal callers in each class, launching a preemptive strike against the kind of quarterback attrition that has become commonplace among depth charts across the country over the past few years.

In this multi-part series, we are taking a good look at each contender for the 2021 quarterback position.

Roschon Johnson was brought in to compete for the starting quarterback role in the 2019 class, but he's a special circumstance at this point.

As injuries ravaged the Texas running back depth chart last season, Texas needed to make an emergency change. While the debate came down to receiver Jake Smith and Johsnon, in the end the dual-threat quarterback from Neches-Groves, Texas was asked to showcase is amazing athleticism in the Texas backfield as a true freshman. 

Coaches ultimately approached Johnson, who had a team mindset and dynamite athleticism. “Even though he had never played that position, the cost benefit was much more slanted to benefit on Roschon’s side than Jake’s,” Texas head coach Tom Herman said.

It turned out that Johsnon was pretty darn talented at the position, rushing for 649 yards and seven touchdowns including a pair of 100-yard performances against Texas Tech and West Virginia. 

Though Johnson discussed the possibility of moving back to quarterback throughout the season, Herman announced in the offseason that he would be staying at his current position going forward. 

We can't rule out a change down the road, but for now it appears Johnson is 100 percent focused on running back.

With Johnson out of the picture for now, Casey Thompson's main competition will likely come from a pair of 2020 quarterbacks.

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