Steve Sarkisian Feels 'Really Good' About Texas Longhorns' Running Back Room

With so much depth, Sarkisian said he's confident that the backfield will see an upgrade this season.

Texas Longhorns running back Quintrevion Wisner (26) gets past Ohio State Buckeyes safety Lathan Ransom (8) on a run in the third quarter of the Cotton Bowl Classic during the College Football Playoff semifinal game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on January, 10, 2025. | Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns running back room was hit hard last summer with the announcements of sophomore CJ Baxter and redshirt freshman Christian Clark suffering preseason injuries.

Despite the setback, the Longhorns found a rhythm in the run game with junior Jaydon Blue and sophomore Quintrevion Wisner, who helped take Texas to its second consecutive College Football Playoffs.

Now that Blue is headed to the Dallas Cowboys, Wisner, Baxter and Clark will take charge of a backfield with depth that head coach Steve Sarkisian is excited to showcase.

Texas Longhorns running back CJ Baxter celebrates a first down during the Sugar Bowl College Football Playoff semifinals | Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

“I think that the backfield will be better, in some degree,” Sarkisian told Pete Thamel of ESPN. “We got two guys coming off of injuries in CJ Baxter and Christian Clark, and we really think highly of both of them. We have a 1,000-yard rusher coming back, Tre Wisner, and we have a true freshman kid who’s going to be a sophomore in Jerrick Gibson, who played some really significant meaningful snaps in some big games. And so I feel really good about the running back room.”

Baxter had high expectations heading into the 2024 season, as he ran for 639 yards and five touchdowns on 138 carries as a freshman the year prior. However, a tear to his ACL and LCL in his knee required surgery that he has since fully recovered from. Baxter's return will undoubtedly be a warm welcome back by Longhorn fans that were robbed of a potential stellar sophomore season.

Clark was supposed to make his Longhorn debut and be the backup to Baxter before he tore his Achilles over the summer. He was ranked the No. 3 overall recruit in the class of 2024 by Rivals, recording 801 yards and six touchdowns during his senior season at Mountain Pointe. Now Clark will join Baxter in the backfield for the first time.

Stepping up to assist Blue when both Baxter and Clark went down was Wisner, who entered last season with just 73 career rushing yards and left with 1,137. He ran in five touchdowns and averaged 70.9 rushing yards per game while also making 44 catches for an additional 311 yards. Wisner looks to have another productive season as a junior.

One of the emerging players that fans could see more of this year is Jerrick Gibson, a rising sophomore that carried the ball 78 times for 377 yards in 2024. He saw time in 14 games and even had four rushing touchdowns for the Longhorns, including back-to-back scores in the season-opener against Colorado State and the following week against Michigan.

With the abundance of talent already at hand, Sarkisian has not pulled any more running backs out of the transfer portal, but has added some in the No. 1 nationally ranked 2025 recruiting class. Four-star athlete James Simon out of Calvary Baptist Academy and three-star Rickey Stewart Jr. from Chapel Hill are the only two running backs from the 22 enrollees set to hit the Forty Acres, but Sarkisian has not mentioned their status.

The Longhorns will open up the 2025 season against reigning national champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes, on Aug. 30, where Baxter, Clark, Wisner, and Gibson could all see action in the backfield.