WATCH: Texas Longhorns RB Jonathon Brooks Breaks Free for TD vs. Kansas

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AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas Longhorns running back Jonathon Brooks continues to impresses with his ability to break the long run at any moment, something he did in the first half of Saturday's game against the No. 24 Kansas Jayhawks in Austin with a 67-yard run that led to a field goal.
He hardly lost the juice in the third quarter. On Texas' first drive of the second half, Brooks found the open hole and said goodbye to the Kansas defense on a 54-yard touchdown run to give the Longhorns a 20-7 lead. The score was his fifth total of the season and gave him 180 yards for the game on just 13 carries.
Take a look:
Another look at the 54-yard rushing TD from Texas RB Jonathon Brooks to open the second half! pic.twitter.com/uIMFaOLucy
— Hook'em Headlines (@HookemHeadlines) September 30, 2023
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has praised Brooks this season.
“He's really taking care of the football. Situationally, his understanding of what we're trying to do. He's a problem in the passing game. He's just grown,” Sarkisian said Monday. ”His development has been that he's grown as a player, but he's also, I think, grown personally. He's a guy that's one of the leaders on our team and glad we got him.”
Brooks has taken over the backfield despite freshman CJ Baxter getting the start in Week 1 against Rice. But ever since Baxter went out with injury in that game, Brooks has shined.
“When CJ couldn't go and JB knew he was gonna kind of be the bell cow for us, I think he had that confidence from the week before that he could and it showed up,” Sarkisian said after the 31-10 win over Wyoming. “I thought he played really good football for Saturday night."
Zach Dimmitt is the Deputy Editor for Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He also contributes as a writer for the On SI channels of the Oregon Ducks, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Buffalo Bills on SI, Philadelphia Eagles on SI and Seattle Seahawks on SI. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Dimmitt received his Bachelor’s Degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. He originally started with SI’s Fan Nation network in 2021, providing extensive coverage of the NFL and NBA along with college football and basketball. In that time, Dimmitt has published thousands of stories and has reached millions of people across multiple fan bases. You can follow him on X at @ZachDimmitt7
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