Texas football: Top 10 all-time rushing leaders in Longhorns history
The Texas football program has a long and storied history of producing talent at the running back position. Texas has a valid argument that it has produced some of the best running back talent of any college football program in the sport’s history.
Throughout the program’s storied history, the Longhorns have produced two Heisman Trophy-winning running backs and a half-dozen rushers with at least one consensus All-American selection.
Texas running backs have found a lot of success in the NFL too. Longhorn running backs have a whopping 20 Pro Bowl selections, and 14 First-Team All-Pro nods in NFL history. It’s also worth noting that Texas is tied with the Georgia Bulldogs, Nebraska Cornhuskers, and Miami Hurricanes for the 11th most running backs drafted in the NFL in the top three rounds.
Colleges with the most Top 3-round NFL Draft picks among running backs. pic.twitter.com/jCF7o8tfaM
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What’s impressive about Texas’ history of sending running back talent to the NFL is how many first-round picks it had in the last few decades. Texas had three running backs selected in the top 10 of the NFL Draft, the most of any school.
All-time rushing leaders in Texas football history
Most of the running backs that had great careers in the NFL among Texas Exes were also very productive in college. Here’s a look at the Longhorns’ top 10 all-time rushing leaders (based on the Texas record books).
D’Onta Foreman (2014-2016)
Career stats: 2,774 rushing yards (6.4 yards per carry), 20 rushing touchdowns
In recent memory, one of the most impressive seasons that the Longhorns faithful saw from a running back for the Burnt Orange came in 2016 when D’Onta Foreman rushed for more than 2,000 yards and 15 scores. Foreman was one of the best running backs in the country during the 2016 season, leading to a top 10 finish in the Heisman voting that year.
The biggest reason why Foreman isn’t higher on this list is the fact that the 2016 season was his only campaign crossing the 1,000-yard mark in his collegiate career at Texas. Foreman registered 672 rushing yards in 2015 and 74 as a freshman in 2014.