4 Texas football players who will blow up in 2024

Jaydon Blue, RB

Junior running back Jaydon Blue is now taking the lead for the backfield for the Longhorns in the wake of the news of Baxter's season-ending knee injury from fall practice earlier this week. Blue and Baxter were splitting the first-team practice reps at running back in the first week or so of preseason camp before the knee injury to CJ.

Blue has waited his turn to be the lead back for multiple years now on the Forty Acres, as a part of some running back rooms that had soem really big names in them. He's seen the likes of Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson, Jonathon Brooks, and Keilan Robinson develop and contribute to this stout Texas backfield that Choice has assembled over the last couple of years on the field.

After posting some solid numbers as one of Texas's top backs, along with Baxter, down the stretch last season (over 500 total yards and four touchdowns), Blue is confident in his abilities heading into this season in the SEC.

"I’m a very competitive guy, and when I found out we were going I told everybody that I was going to be hard to beat there and I was going for everybody. It turns out that I didn’t lose a game. They were talking a lot of trash to me on the side and I just started playing better as they were talking trash."

Blue's teammates also believe he is on the verge of a "special" season for the Longhorns as the definitive RB1 now for 2024.

Since the plan is for Blue to enter the NFL Draft next spring, this is definitely a contract or "prove-it" year for him in his third season with the Longhorns in 2024. He does have the tools and explosiveness to be the next 1,000-yard rusher for Sarkisian and the Longhorns this fall.

Now it's just about him proving that he can consistently handle the workload as the new "bellcow" back in Sarkisian's backfield.

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