One of the hottest topics among the Texas fanbase heading into spring practice surrounded the running back room and who'd eventually emerge as the "starter" heading into 2026. Though nothing has been officially announced yet, Steve Sarkisian might have shown his hand towards the end of spring football this year.
The coaching staff completely revamped the running back room this offseason, signing talented freshmen Derrek Cooper and Jett Walker in the 2026 recruiting class, and bringing in Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers via the transfer portal.
James Simon returns as well, and Michael Terry III looks like he's gained 10 pounds of solid muscle since officially moving to RB from WR. Though Ryan Niblett also saw time at both RB and slot receiver in 2025, it looks like the coaching staff wants him to "settle down" at RB while also operating as the main kick and punt returner.
It was somewhat assumed that Hollywood Smothers would be the main early-down back, with Raleek Brown operating as the third-down/pass-catching back. Ironically, Brown has been the starter on early downs in practice, with both Smothers and Derrek Cooper rotating in behind him.
Texas freshman RB Derrek Cooper with a short TD run on Saturday pic.twitter.com/z63tHj9H3Y
— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) April 18, 2026
It also sounds like Ryan Niblett is going to have a larger role than initially expected in the backfield, as the coaching staff has been showing him film of former Longhorns RB Keilan Robinson and explaining to Niblett how he was used as an explosive third-down back from 2021-2023.
Long story short, it definitely looks like Raleek Brown has a pretty big lead in the RB1 race as of right now. Smothers has looked good too, but Brown's speed and overall playmaking ability may be the deciding factor when it comes to who sees the field more often in 2026.
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