Texas Longhorns Make Home-Run Hire With New RB Coach Jabbar Juluke

The Texas Longhorns have found their new running backs coach.

Per an announcement from the official Texas Football X account, Texas has elected to hire former Florida Gators associate head coach and running backs coach Jabbar Juluke to fill their own vacancy at the position.

Juluke comes in to replace the recently fired Chad Scott, who spent just one year in Austin, leading the Longhorns to their worst rushing season since 1944.

Why The Longhorns Hired Jabbar Juluke

New Texas Longhorns RB Coach Jabbar Juluke — Florida Gators associate head coach for running backs Jabbar Juluke looks on during fall football practice at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium | Matt Pendleton / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

At the time of Scott's firing, Juluke immediately became the most talked-about candidate to take over the position. He then interviewed for the job on Friday, and lept to the front of the list for Texas.

And given his track record for developing and identifying talent throughout his career, that is more than justified.

Juluke is a fantastic recruiter, helping the Gators land stars like Trevor Etienne, Jaden Baugh, and DJ Lagway, and bringing studs like Grant Delpit and Clyde Edwards-Helaire to LSU. He also helped bring Emani Bailey to Louisiana, and helped Texas Tech sign SaRodorick Thompson.

Juluke also has major connections in recruiting in the state of Louisiana.

In 2016, Juluke was the running back coach for eventual top-10 pick Leonard Fournette at LSU. In seven games under Juluke, Fournette rushed for 843 yards on 129 attempts, averaging 6.5 yards per carry, and scoring eight touchdowns. He also coached Derius Guice at LSU to a fantastic year of over 1,300 yards and 15 scores after Fournette went down with an injury. In 2017, he coached the tandem of Justin Stockton and Tre King at Texas Tech, who combined for 1,490 yards and averaged 5.66 yards per carry with nine touchdowns.

He then moved to the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns in 2018, where they would eventually go on to set program records in 2019, ranking sixth in the country and rushing for 3,604 yards and 42 touchdowns on 6.28 yards per carry. They had a three-headed monster that season of Elijah Mitchell, who rushed for 1,147 yards and 16 touchdowns on 5.79 yards per carry, as well as Raymond Calais and Trey Ragas, each of whom rushed for over 800 yards and averaged over seven yards per carry, with 17 touchdowns between the two of them.

After his time with the Cajuns, Juluke moved on to Florida with Billy Napier, where he continued to develop fantastic running backs, including Etienne and Montrell Johnson. His most recent student was Baugh, who many consider to be one of the top running backs in the country after his 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns on 5.3 yards per carry.

What's next under Juluke?

Texas Longhorns running backs coach Jabbar Juluke — Florida Gators associate head coach for running backs Jabbar Juluke walks on the field against the Long Island Sharks | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Now with Juluke at the helm, the rebuilding of the running back room can commence.

That already began with veteran running back CJ Baxter entering the transfer portal earlier this month, and the signing of five-star back Derrek Cooper on early signing day.

Now, the Horns will hope to reshape the room even more by adding some talent from the transfer portal and adopting Juluke's style to fit into Steve Sarkisian's offensive system. Perhaps that will also include a more thorough integration and opportunity for former five-star athlete Michael Terry III, who transitioned to the room in the second half of the season.

It would also certainly help to add some talent to the interior of the offensive line as well via the transfer portal as well.

Either way, if Juluke's track record is any indication, it would seem that he will find a way to make improvements sooner rather than later.