Steve Sarkisian reveals emotions of Texas running back room after Jonathon Brooks injury

Texas running back Jonathon Brooks tore his ACL during the Longhorns’ Week 11 victory over TCU after taking 21 carries for 104 yards and two touchdowns.

At the time of his injury, Brooks was the third-leading rusher in the Big 12 Conference with 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns, including six games where he rushed for at least 100 yards. Now, head coach Steve Sarkisian is calling on the rest of his running back room to step up in Brooks’ absence.

“Nobody likes seeing their brother go down,” Sarkisian said on Thursday. “I do think there was a sense of hurt for him knowing of what he had put into play the way he had been playing the season, but also think they feel like, man — opportunity. These guys work really hard, too. They’ve been training since January, too and so now [it’s on them to] make sure that they’re putting themselves in the best position to be successful.

“We’re fortunate in that CJ [Baxter] started the year for us, so I think his level of comfort and being healthy is big for us. Keilan [Robinson] has been exposed to a lot of football. I think Jaydon Blue, has been chomping at the bit for his opportunities and Savion [Red] has been in some critical moments for us.”

While Brooks has 100 more carries than anyone else on the roster, the next most productive back is Baxter, a freshman, who has taken 87 carries for 390 yards and three touchdowns. Blue is the only other running back on the roster with over 100 yards of production (167) for Texas. Robinson, a senior, only has seven rushing attempts to his credit this year while Red has at least scored a touchdown this season.

Still, the Longhorns’ offense will still go through quarterback Quinn Ewers. With Xavier Worthy and AD Mitchell out wide — Texas should be able to compensate without its star tailback if they focus on the passing game. According to Sarkisian, however, he’s not going to change his scheme over Brooks’ injury.

“Our offense is going to remain our offense and like I said, I think we’re fortunate we have some guys that have some experience that have playmaking ability and are all really versatile backs,” Sarkisian continued. “We’ll go into the game and navigate it accordingly as the game requires.”

Texas’ first game without Brooks in the backfield is scheduled against Iowa State, and the Longhorns will walk into Jack Trice Stadium as 7.5-point betting favorites, per Vegas Insider. The over/under total is set at 46.5 points.