It's Time for Steve Sarkisian to Reconsider How Texas Runs the Ball

Derrek Cooper needed just eight carries to lead the Longhorns in rushing yards against Oklahoma.

The freshman finished with 41 yards, outproducing Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown despite receiving just two carries for no yards in the second half.

For a team that's struggled to find consistency on the ground, that performance offered a glimpse of what a different approach might look like.

Now, Steve Sarkisian has a decision to make.

He brought in Brown and Smothers to revitalize his run game, but five games into the season, neither has consistently delivered the results Texas needs.

Perhaps it's time to reconsider how the Longhorns distribute their carries.

Has Derrek Cooper Earned More Carries?

Oct 10, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns running back Derrek Cooper runs against the Oklahoma Sooners during the first half at Cotton Bowl. Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Through five games, Smothers has rushed for 237 yards on 53 carries, while Brown has recorded 218 yards on the same number of attempts.

Neither has consistently provided the explosiveness Texas expected when it brought the two to Austin. Brown and Smothers each have one rush of 20 or more yards, both coming in the season opener against Texas State.

Texas has just three such runs all season, tied for 120th nationally.

Despite those struggles, the two transfers have dominated Texas’ backfield.

According to Punt & Rally, Brown has played 170 offensive snaps, accounting for 44% of Texas’ running back snaps, while Smothers has recorded 141 snaps, or 37%.

Cooper, meanwhile, has played just 44 offensive snaps, or 11%.

Of course, those numbers require some context. Cooper suffered an ankle injury against Texas State, forcing him to miss the following week’s matchup against Ohio State.

But against Oklahoma, Cooper reminded fans what he could bring to the offense.

During a second-quarter scoring drive, Cooper recorded consecutive runs of 16, nine and 11 yards, helping Texas move inside Oklahoma’s 10-yard line before settling for a field goal.

Yet as the Longhorns’ offense continued to struggle in the second half, he remained a relatively minor part of their rushing attack.

Following the loss, Sarkisian acknowledged that Cooper was beginning to carve out a larger role in Texas’ backfield as he returned from injury.

But how much will his role actually change?

Cooper hasn’t necessarily shown enough to suddenly become Texas’ bell-cow back, and abandoning Smothers and Brown completely would be an overreaction to just one game.

Still, Cooper showed flashes of his potential against Oklahoma, and as the Longhorns continue searching for consistency on the ground, there's reason to believe he deserves more.

Arch Manning’s Mobility Could Be the Missing Piece

Oct 10, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning runs with the ball during the game between the Sooners and the Longhorns at Cotton Bowl. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Of course, Cooper isn’t the only player Sarkisian could turn to as he searches for answers on the ground.

There’s also the matter of his dual-threat quarterback.

Last season, Arch Manning emerged as one of Texas' most effective rushing threats, recording 537 yards excluding sacks and a team-high 10 rushing touchdowns.

But through five games this season, Manning has yet to find the end zone on the ground.

That doesn’t necessarily mean his mobility has become less effective, as he’s still amassed 174 yards on 27 carries for an average of 6.4 yards per carry when you remove sacks. But Texas hasn't utilized his mobility as effectively in situations where it was particularly valuable last season.

Manning recorded 20 red-zone rushing attempts in 2025, scoring seven touchdowns. Through five games this season, he's carried the ball just three times inside the opponent's 20-yard line, without finding the end zone.

Of course, Texas has also reached the red zone less frequently, limiting those opportunities. Still, it raises the question of whether Sarkisian could make more intentional use of his quarterback's mobility.

“I feel like when we were at our best last year as an offense, he was utilizing his legs, whether it was on designed runs or scrambles when things broke down,” Sarkisian said. “I would like to see his legs become more of a factor than they've been so far.”

Manning doesn’t need to become the focal point of the Texas run game, especially when Sarkisian has emphasized keeping his quarterback healthy.

But a more intentional approach to utilizing his mobility, particularly in short-yardage and red-zone situations, could help the Longhorns become less predictable on the ground.

Ultimately, Texas’ run game rut isn’t something that can be solved with a single personnel change.

With Florida approaching, Sarkisian must decide whether he’s willing to make better use of his available options or risk getting the same results.

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