Texas Football: Ranking the 5 best running backs since 2000

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AUSTIN, TX – OCTOBER 29: D’Onta Foreman #33 of the Texas Longhorns breaks free for a 37 yard touchdown run against the Baylor Bears during the first half on October 29, 2016 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) /

As a Heisman contender, former All-American, and early round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, D’Onta Foreman had a great career for Texas over a tough time for the program altogether. Foreman might not have the same degree of big stat lines over the course of an entire career quite like a few other rushers on this list, but he spent less time in Austin than most other running backs in recent years.

A big gap sits between Brown and Foreman on this list too. That’s where it goes from good to great. Foreman is a running back that Texas fans will not soon forget. He posted some of the best single season stats that this fan base is likely to see for a while. Given the current state of the running game, it seemed so long ago that Foreman ran all over opposing Big 12 defenses.

His junior season is where everything came together for Foreman at once. He rushed for over 2,000 yards in 2016 with 15 touchdowns on the ground. The season previous, Foreman was definitely a solid piece to the Texas ground game, but he didn’t even come close to eclipsing the 1,000-rushing yard mark in 2015.

That effort during his junior season garnered Foreman some First-Team All-American honors in 2016. They were beyond well-deserved considering the type of breakout season he had. It was just a shame that he made the jump to the next level one year early when the Horns really could have used him back in 2017.

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