With a depleted backfield, Sarkisian pivots to a versatile freshman weapon. Can Michael Terry ignite Texas' dormant run game?
Texas didn't just lose bodies at running back this offseason; it lost the plot.
With Quintrevion Wisner and Jerrick Gibson now in the transfer portal, the Longhorns' backfield has been stripped down to the studs after a season in which the run game never looked like a Texas run game should.
The ground attack was so ineffective that head coach Steve Sarkisian made a blunt move. He fired running backs coach Chad Scott and replaced him with former Florida running backs coach Jabbar Juluke.
Juluke inherits a position group that currently looks more like a spring practice experiment than a championship-caliber rotation.
As it stands, Texas' returning scholarship production at running back is paper-thin. Christian Clark (131 rushing yards), James Simon (122), and Michael Terry (0) are the leaders in the clubhouse.
The good news for Texas is that help is coming.
Juluke will have more to work with next season when highly touted freshman Derrek Cooper arrives, and Texas is expected to add at least one transfer back to patch the depth chart.
But for the moment, Sarkisian is forced to get creative, and that’s where Michael Terry comes in.
Terry is the most intriguing name in the room precisely because he isn't a traditional running back. The freshman arrived in Austin as a do-everything weapon, a Swiss Army Knife who lined up all over the place in high school.
At Alamo Heights, Terry took snaps at wide receiver, running back, tight end, and even wildcat quarterback.
When he enrolled early and got on campus in the spring, Sarkisian’s plan was clear ... simplify the menu and let Terry master one position first—receiver.
"We've really got him honed in on receiver right now," Sarkisian said before the season, noting that Terry's physical flashes were obvious but that being a jack-of-all-trades can delay the jump to college-level precision. The idea was to turn him into a master of one, then expand the role once the foundation was set.
That foundation never translated into a spot in the receiver rotation.
Terry couldn't crack the lineup at wideout, and now the math at running back is forcing Sark's hand. With the position depleted, Texas is moving Terry into the backfield, because when you're out of answers, you start digging through the athlete drawer.
And Terry's body of work suggests this isn't desperation just for show.
In high school, he logged 199 carries for 1,727 rushing yards across four seasons. He also added 954 receiving yards and even threw for 114 yards. He's not a finished product at any one spot, but he's comfortable doing everything, exactly the kind of athlete a staff leans on when the depth chart is on fire.
Now comes the real question ... is this a clever, explosive wrinkle …or a red flag that Texas is scrambling? Either way, Sarkisian is rolling the dice. Because right now, the Longhorns don't just need a running back. They need a running game.