We’re going to turn the focus to the offensive side of the ball for Texas football, and the other most impactful true freshman. First-year running back Keaontay Ingram had himself a big inaugural season at the Power Five level. He also made some significant strides in his progression in the receiving game and pass blocking as the regular season passed by.
While it would take a huge performance in the Sugar Bowl, Ingram does have the chance to get over the 1,000 total yard mark for his freshman campaign. Entering the Sugar Bowl, Ingram has 829 total yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns. A good portion of those yards came from his receiving numbers.
Ingram was efficient pretty much every step of the way this year too. He averaged more than five yards per carry, and provided a steady hand out of the backfield most games during the regular season. He roughly averaged four yards per carry or more in all but two games this year. Most games saw him produce more than 4.5 yards per carry.
This is the kind of effective running back that the Horns didn’t have in the mix last year. Ingram was also a perfect combination at running back alongside the senior and former graduate transfer Tre Watson. Watson is a well-rounded back that had to have a positive impact on Ingram and help him develop to likely become the guy next year at running back.