Texas Football: 3 RBs that must step up after Roschon Johnson’s injury

One of the more notable injuries that came about for Texas football in the dominant win over head coach Lance Leipold and the Kansas Jayhawks was unfortunately dealt to senior running back Roschon Johnson. Roschon suffered a leg injury in the first half of this game.

And Roschon was seen after the game in a walking boot in a picture that fellow Texas running back Jaydon Blue posted on Twitter on Nov. 19.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian mentioned after the game that Roschon suffered a “lower leg injury”. Sark also noted that “he’s very confident he’ll be back, so we’ve just got to see how it plays out”.

It does sound like there is a chance that Roschon could return for Texas for the regular season finale at home at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Nov. 25 (Black Friday) against the Baylor Bears.

Which Texas football running backs must rise to the occasion if Roschon Johnson misses time?

This is still a notable injury, though, as it’s not ideal for Roschon to be in a walking boot on a short week ahead of Senior Day.

If Roschon is limited to any extent, who must step up in the running back room for the Longhorns?

Keilan Robinson

The most obvious name that comes to mind among the backup running backs for the Longhorns in terms of who must step up in the last few weeks of the season if Roschon is limited to any extent is redshirt junior Keilan Robinson.

Keilan is one of the most explosive weapons that Sark has to utilize in this offense in the running and passing games this fall. The versatility that Keilan brings to the table is highlighted by the fact that he has three receiving touchdowns and more than 150 receiving yards on the season, despite getting limited touches most of the way.

I like the way that Sark is getting Keilan involved in the last six weeks or so in Big 12 play. Keilan is getting motioned around a lot, causing some pre-snap confusion for opposing defenses.

But Keilan will be utilized more often in the ground game out of the backfield if Roschon isn’t able to handle his usual workload following the lower-leg injury he suffered in the win over Kansas.

Roschon has taken an average of 11.5 snaps on run plays per game this season. Meanwhile, Keilan has taken an average of roughly four snaps on run plays per game. Thus, some of those snaps would likely go to Keilan, upping his workload by a couple of carries in all likelihood (again, assuming that Roschon is limited in the finale).