Longhorns Country

Texas Longhorns A Finalist For No. 1 2026 Running Back

The Longhorns are in the running for the nation's top back in the 2026 class.
Matt Galatzan|
Jackson's Ezavier Crowell tries to evade a tackle by Cherokee County's Tyson Wood.
Jackson's Ezavier Crowell tries to evade a tackle by Cherokee County's Tyson Wood. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Texas Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns' ability to recruit the running back position was called into question after position coach Tashard Choice left the 40 Acres for the NFL last month.

However, just days into the tenure of new running backs coach Chad Scott, those concerns have been answered.

On Wednesday night, 4-star Jackson (AL) star and No. 1 overall running back Ezavier Crowell named Texas among his top-six finalists, alongside Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Auburn and Ohio State.

Jackson's Ezavier Crowell breaks a long touchdown run on the Aggie’s first possession against Cherokee County
Jackson's Ezavier Crowell breaks a long touchdown run on the Aggie’s first possession against Cherokee County | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Crowell ranks as the No. 1 running back in the nation, the 4 player in the state of Alabama and the No. 34 player in the country per Rivals.com. He also ranks as the No. 28 overall player, the No. 2 running back and the No. 3 player in the Yellow Hammer State per the On3 Industry Ranking.

A product of Jackson High School (Alabama), Crowell also announced last month on X that he will take an official visit to Austin from June 6-8. He will also be taking officials to Georgia (May 30), Auburn (June 13), Florida State (June 15) and Alabama (June 20).

Crowell has received offers from programs like Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Oregon, Tennessee, Miami, Ole Miss, USC, Florida and many more. 247Sports has him ranked as the No. 4 running back in the 2026 class.

Over the past two seasons, he's posted 334 carries for 3,701 yards and 56 touchdowns to go along with 20 catches for 470 yards and six more scores.

If Crowell commits to Texas, he'd join a '26 class that currently features three commits in four-star quarterback Dia Bell, three-star wide receiver Chris Stewart and three-star offensive tackle Max Wright.

The Longhorns will kick off their 2025 season in Columbus against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday, Aug. 30.

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writers’ Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014, covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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