Texas Football: 3 freshmen poised to breakout in the Alamo Bowl
By Shane Black
Jaydon Blue, RB
A lot has been made of what the Texas running back room will look like going forward, and rightfully so. With the departures of Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson, the Longhorns are losing the fourth and 18th-ranked players in rushing yards in program history. That said, Texas looks poised to welcome another stable of talented backs to the forefront of the offense.
Freshman Jaydon Blue is a player I am incredibly excited to see become more involved in Steve Sarkisian’s offense. A Houston (Klein Cain) native, many people forget that Blue opted to forgo his senior year of high school and reclassify as a 2022 graduate.
During his final season at Klein Cain, Blue averaged 9.5 yards per carry, finishing the 11-game season with six performances of 200+ rushing yards. He combines a unique combination of speed and strength, rarely allowing the first contacted defender to bring him down.
Blue has sat as the fourth running back on the depth chart this season, playing behind the aforementioned Robinson and Johnson and redshirt freshman Jonathon Brooks. Because of this, he saw only 16 offensive snaps all season.
Thursday night against Washington will be the first time in his young career that Blue will be given an opportunity to show the Longhorn faithful what he can bring to the table.
Brooks looks to be the starting running back for the Alamo Bowl, but Blue will undoubtedly see his fair share of snaps. I expect the freshman to touch the ball 10-12 times, giving him enough leeway to work himself into the action.
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Blue is poised to make the most of these touches and will put himself in a prime position to compete for running back snaps next season with Brooks, Keilan Robinson, and Cedric Baxter Jr.