Steve Sarkisian delivers devastating news on Bijan Robinson

Steve Sarkisian on Monday delivered devastating news just days after Texas suffered a heartbreaking upset at home to Kansas: star running back Bijan Robinson will miss the remainder of the year with a dislocated elbow.

Robinson, a true sophomore, suffered injuries in consecutive losses; however, his injury against Iowa State wasn’t nearly as serious. During Texas’ 30-7 loss to the Cyclones, Robinson — who hardly looked like himself, fumbling twice — took a tough hit and stayed on the ground before entering the tent, then the locker room. Sarkisian said the injury in the Iowa State game was nothing more than a “stinger.”

One week later, in Texas’ upset loss to Kansas, Robinson tried stiff-arming a Jayhawks defender and fell to the ground in pain. He eventually went to the locker room. This injury, a dislocated elbow, will end his 2021 campaign.

Robinson had 14 carries for 70 yards in Texas’ 57-56 overtime loss to Kansas, while adding another three receptions for 48 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. He’ll finish the season with 1,127 rushing yards on 195 attempts, plus 11 rushing touchdowns. Not only was he Texas’ leading rusher, but Robinson was also No. 2 on the team with 26 receptions, taking them for 295 yards and four touchdowns (also Texas’ second-highest tally).

A native of Tucson, Arizona, Robinson was a consensus five-star recruit and the No. 2 running back in the class of 2020, via On3 Consensus. A 6-foot, 214-pound running back, Robinson was a physically imposing threat in 2020, despite being a true freshman. He played in nine games, starting in six, racking up a team-high 703 rushing yards and four touchdowns to go along with 15 receptions, 196 receiving yards and a pair of receiving touchdowns.

Robinson received heavy workload in 2021

Robinson received a very heavy workload in his second season at Texas, Sarkisian’s first as head coach. Through 10 games, Robinson received 20-plus carries in four games, rushing for over 100 yards in six; all the while, Robinson, a contributor in the passing game, was targeted multiple times in every contest.

In Texas’ 32-27 win over TCU on Oct. 2, Robinson had a performance for the ages, rushing for 216 yards and two touchdowns. However, his 35-carry tally begged questions about his usage, and Sarkisian addressed his workload prior to Texas’ next game against Oklahoma.

“We’ll monitor it,” Sarkisian said. “I think between myself, [running backs coach Stan Drayton] and [offensive coordinator Kyle Flood], we’ve got a lot of experience with dealing with running backs and workloads and how to manage that, [dealing with] specific days and build-up to the game. So, we’ll definitely manage it; we’ll monitor it. But Bijan feels great, if you ask him. I think he feels really good, I think he came out of the game extremely healthy.”

Sarkisian continued to compliment Robinson’s physical conditioning, suggesting that Texas’ bellcow back has done everything in his power to prepare for such a heavy workload.

“He’s obviously in really good physical condition,” Sarkisian said. “That helps. That was something we had challenged him early on, coming out of spring ball. Physically and mentally preparing himself for those kind of games, when those games would come up. And he responded extremely well, he really did. And I know there was a level of fatigue there late in the fourth quarter, but I think we can always dig deeper.”