Texas Football: RB Daniel Young’s unique spring camp opportunity

With the running back depth thinning so much in the early off-season for Texas football, 2017 signee Daniel Young has a chance to have a big spring.

The ever growing need for the Texas football program in the running back room in terms of depth could be a big concern heading into spring camp. It looked as if Texas football would be able to make it through this off-season with the running back depth as is before the recent news surrounding the talented incoming four-star Buford, GA, product Derrian Brown.

An update from the Caring Bridge page gives great news as to the status for the Texas football signee Brown that he is walking around and talking following a scary hospitalization due to an undisclosed medical issue.

Nonetheless, Texas football still has the looming trouble with running back Seth outside of rising sophomore Keaontay Ingram. The only running back with any sort of significant game experience in the past two seasons for the Texas Longhorns is the third-year former four-star recruit Daniel Young.

Entering the 2018 regular season, head Texas football coach Tom Herman and offensive coordinator Tim Beck rolled with the former graduate transfer Tre Watson and Young as the two workhorses. But, Ingram quickly took hold of a bigger role and heavier workload out of the backfield as he continue to prove himself as a true freshman. In effect, Young was mostly forced out of the backfield rotation.

As the 2018 campaign progressed, Ingram and Watson pretty much became the only two running backs that got significant game action. Young did get some looks, but it became very sparse after the first five games.

The problem that is looming now for the Texas football coaching staff is that Watson is out of eligibility and Ingram is the only returning productive running back for 2019. Texas lost some other options it had at running back this year to the NCAA Transfer Portal, namely Kyle Porter and Toneil Carter.

Entering spring camp, Young and Ingram are set to be the two rushers getting the most reps. A young roster on the offensive side of the ball makes for the need for some steady and reliable options at running back to help the developing skill position talent effectively learn.

However, Young will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2018 campaign that saw him average well under four yards per carry and post just over 150 rushing yards. If he can find the production level he was at back in 2017 as a true freshman, he’ll be an effective part of the Horns backfield this coming season.

Young posted 526 total yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns in 2017 and was the most reliable running back by the end of that season. In spring camp 2019, Young will be a part of a main running back trio that also features Ingram and a hopefully healthy rising senior Kirk Johnson.

With the amount of reps that Young is set to get as the more powerful running back between him and Ingram, he’ll finally get that chance to revitalize his career and role on the Forty Acres. This is an opportunity that doesn’t come along often for a program with a running back lineage as strong as what Texas boasts. He needs to take full advantage in the coming months.