AUSTIN (KXAN) — It took almost 16 years for Texas to get back to being the top-ranked team in the country. Now as the Longhorns continue to ascend in 2024, they do so with a lot of young talent.
There are a number of Longhorns who have stepped up in their second year with the program like Anthony Hill, Malik Muhammed, Quintrevion Wisner and DeAndre Moore. Some true freshmen, too, have made an impact.
The depth of the Longhorns running back room has been tested. Expected started CJ Baxter is missing the entire season as is freshman Christian Clark with injuries. Jaydon Blue had been the starter for the first two games but was out Saturday against UTSA.
Freshman running back Jerrick Gibson has stepped up to lead the team in rushing attempts, yards and touchdowns with an aggressive mindset.
“Jerrick right now is kind of like a baby rhino,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. said “He gets in the open field, puts his head down and runs right at somebody. It’s going to be OK for him to make a guy miss and try to score a touchdown.”
“I compare him to Frank Gore,” said Longhorns sophomore linebacker Anthony Hill. “When I watch him, I really see he runs hard. He runs tough.”
Elsewhere on offense, the Texas wide receiver room is deep. The Longhorns are able to confidently go six or seven deep at the position. The youngest of that bunch is Ryan Wingo, also in his first year on campus.
“He’s got a unique skill set,” Sarkisian said. “The size, speed, range, you don’t find that every day. What he’s brought from day one has been this real sense of humility. He knows he is not a finished product.”
The idea that Wingo is not a finished product is an understandable one, but perhaps a scary one for teams trying to contain him. He has made an explosive play in each of the Longhorns’ games so far, but it is not just his talent impressing his teammates.
“Ryan is a great player,” sophomore wide receiver DeAndre Moore said. “It starts with the coaching. He has the right head on top of his shoulders and he really came with the mindset ‘I want to work.’ And our coaches had the mindset ‘We are going to push you.'”
Defensively, Colin Simmons has been impossible to miss. His athleticism, talent and explosiveness jump off the page. The freshman’s best game came Saturday with six total tackles, including two for a loss and a sack.
“His confidence and his ability,” said Texas senior linebacker David Gbenda on what makes Simmons special. “He’s come in, kept his head down and worked hard. He’s always trying to pick up something new.”
“He has steadily improved his craft,” said Sarkisian about Simmons. “Clearly he is an impactful player when he gets to rush the passer. Our goal for him is to make him the most complete player we can make him.”
Texas has its last non-conference game Saturday at 7 p.m. as they host Louisiana-Monroe. Texas Gameday is the official pregame show of Texas football and airs at 6 p.m. Saturday on KBVO.