Texas hired Florida's Jabbar Juluke to replace Chad Scott after a run-game faceplant. Now, Sark needs Juluke's recruiting and RB factory, fast.
The Texas Longhorns didn't just fill a vacancy; they dropped a reset button on the most frustrating part of their offense.
Texas announced the hire of Jabbar Juluke as associate head coach (offense) and running backs coach, bringing in a proven developer and recruiter to replace Chad Scott, who lasted just one season in Austin.
The move is a direct response to a ground game that went from weapon to weakness. Under Scott, Texas' rushing efficiency dipped hard to just 3.9 yards per carry, the lowest of Steve Sarkisian's tenure and a clear signal that the Longhorns couldn't keep living off passing game fireworks alone. Texas didn’t need a tweak; it needed a tone change.
Juluke brings that edge.
He's worn the "closer" label in recruiting rooms and meeting rooms, with a track record that spans the SEC and the state of Louisiana - an area Texas wants to mine like an oil field.
He's been credited over the years with helping land and develop high-end talent, and his body of work screams "running back pipeline," not "position coach placeholder."
The development history matters because Juluke has coached backs at multiple stops where production wasn't optional; it was the identity.
His time at LSU in 2016 is notable, where he coached Leonard Fournette and also worked with Derrius Guice during a monster season for the Tigers' backfield. That's the kind of credibility that gets a room to listen on Day 1.
Now comes the part that actually counts ... rebuilding the Longhorns' running back room in real time.
With roster movement already shaking things up, Texas needs Juluke to recruit, retain, and develop fast.
The staff has already brought in elite young talent, and the next step is pairing that with portal additions and a run-game identity that fits Sarkisian's system instead of fighting it.
Texas' path forward is simple to say and brutal to execute. Get tougher up front, get more reliable at running back, and stop making "balanced offense" a slogan instead of a threat.
Juluke's hire is Texas admitting the obvious ... if the run game is broken, you don't patch it. You replace the engine.