A look at Texas's RB room after CJ Baxter Jr.'s injury

Jerrick Gibson and Christian Clark

The future of Texas's backfield will come into the spotlight in live-game action sooner than expected, with true freshmen Jerrick Gibson and Christian Clark. Gibson and Clark were the two blue-chip running back commitments Choice and the Longhorns signed as early enrollees in the 2024 recruiting class.

It's now proven to be critical that Gibson and Clark were both early enrollees that participated in spring ball for the Longhorns to get a leg up on learning the schemes and adjusting to the pace of play in college at Texas.

Gibson and Clark both certainly look like college running backs who are ready for the physical grind of running the ball up the middle in the SEC trenches week in and week out. Gibson, a former high-four-star running back recruit from IMG Academy in Florida, has the build of a classic mauler of an NFL back, in that mould of a Frank Gore, Nick Chubb, and/or Sony Michel. He's 5-foot-10 and a very sturdy 210 pounds.

Clark, meanwhile, has a strong lower half that makes him look like a tree trunk when he puts his head down running the football this fall. The 6-foot and 210-pound Arizona native Clark is a versatile and underrated back who is very shifty, has great hands, and can run physically between the tackles and up the middle on the ground.

The fact of the matter is that Gibson and Clark will have to see the field as Texas's third and fourth backs in the running back rotation this fall after Baxter's injury. They've looked ready to take these early live-game reps out of the backfield with solid showings during spring ball and early in training camp this fall, behind Blue and Wisner.

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