Over the past half-century, the Texas football program has produced some of the best running backs in recent memory in college football. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian has built a brand of developing elite running back talents in college. He's had a 1,000-yard running back in all but one of his seasons as a college coach/offensive coordinator.
Running backs are a huge part of the storied history of the Texas football program in the past four decades
Texas has had multiple Heisman Trophy-winning running backs since 1970, including Ricky Williams in 1998 and Earl Campbell in 1977.
And in the past four decades, no school has more Doak Walker Award-winning running backs than the Longhorns. Texas and the Wisconsin Badgers are both tied with having the most Doak Walker winners in the award's history, with four each.
What's also impressive about the Longhorns' track record at running back is the program's ability to stack depth and talent in the same backfield over multiple different seasons. Texas's running back depth has helped the program win multiple conference and national titles in the past few decades.
Here's a ranking of the four best Texas backfields for the program in the past 40 years.
5. 2004
Cedric Benson's dominant final season at Texas
Legendary Texas running back Cedric Benson's final season with the Longhorns came in 2004. Benson had a fantastic season for the Longhorns during his senior campaign in 2004, registering over 2,000 yards from scrimmage for the first time in his career in college.
Benson led the nation in rushing touchdowns (19) for the second year in a row. He rushed for at least 100 yards in 10 games, including a record-breaking five touchdown performance on the ground in Texas's second-half comeback win over Oklahoma State.
Texas's other leading rusher in the 2004 season wasn't a running back, with star quarterback Vince Young rushing for a career-high in yards (1,079) and touchdowns (14).
Also contributing to Texas's stellar running back room in the backfield in 2004 were Ramonce Taylor and Selvin Young. Taylor had three games of at least 50 rushing yards. Young broke out for 100+ rushing yards in Texas's season opener against North Texas.
Texas's 2004 running back room was one of only eight in the past 40 years for the program that rushed for over 2,500 yards.
Since this list is only a ranking of running backs, Young's contributions on the ground aren't counted in the factors here.