The Texas Longhorns are entering the 2025 college football season with what could be one of the nation’s best running back rooms.
Quarterback Arch Manning has received most of the attention surrounding the Longhorns offense, but their rushing attack will be a force to be reckoned with and could be the true engine of the offensive unit this upcoming season.
Despite the departure of standout running back Jaydon Blue to the NFL, the Longhorns will boast a formidable rotation that includes Quintrevion Wisner, CJ Baxter, Jerrick Gibson, and Christian Clark. Each brings a unique skillset to the running back position and will cause opposing defensive coordinators to expand their gameplan.
“I think that the backfield will be better, in some degree,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We got two guys coming off of injuries in CJ Baxter and Christian Clark, and we really think highly of both of them. We have a 1,000-yard rusher coming back, Tre Wisner, and we have a true freshman kid who’s going to be a sophomore in Jerrick Gibson, who played some really significant meaningful snaps in some big games. And so I feel really good about the running back room.”
TRE WISNER
Wisner emerged as a breakout star in 2024, rushing for 1,064 yards and five touchdowns, while also recording 44 receptions for 311 yards and a touchdown. He is a true three-down running back whose explosive speed will make him a dynamic weapon for the Longhorns offense in his junior season.
“What I like about Quintrevion Wisner is he hasn’t been given anything,” ESPN College Football Analyst Greg McElroy said. “This is a young man that started his career in special teams. He was great as a true freshman in special teams. You look at the running backs and you wonder exactly how he was going to fit in last year. Wisner just kept his head down and kept working and kept working. Wisner finally gets his chance, and sure enough it was an outstanding season nonetheless.”
CJ BAXTER
Baxter, a former five-star recruit from Orlando, FL, is set to make his highly anticipated return after missing the 2024 season due to a torn ACL and LCL in his right knee. With the beginning of the 2025 season a little under eleven weeks away, Baxter has returned to the practice field and is officially cleared to play football.
As a freshman in 2023, he rushed for 659 yards and five touchdowns—earning second-team All-America honors from The Athletic and honorable mention All-Big 12 recognition. The rising redshirt sophomore will be relied upon as one of the top options out of the backfield for Texas this season. If he can become a bigger threat in the receiving game, Baxter’s impact on the Texas offense could be game-changing.
JERRICK GIBSON
Gibson, a four-star recruit from IMG Academy, made an immediate impact as a true freshman in 2024—rushing for 377 yards and four touchdowns. He is a patient runner who plays the running back position with exceptional agility and vision.
“JG (Jerrick Gibson) has got some mature qualities about him, but for me freshmen can’t do anything right,” Texas running backs coach Tashard Choice said last season prior to the Peach Bowl. “It’s a learning curve for them because of the way we practice, what I expect from the position. The expectations, it’s a lot coming from a kid out of high school because they’re not going to know everything that it entails to be able to start at running back or play a lot at the University of Texas. There’s a learning curve, and just like Ced (CJ Baxter) last year, he ended up getting better at the end of the year.”
Gibson is expected to take on a more significant role in 2025 as an important piece in the Texas running back rotation.
CHRISTIAN CLARK
Clark, a former three-star recruit in the 2024 class, picked Texas over top programs like Georgia, Alabama, and Oregon. He tore his Achilles around the same time Baxter was injured during the 2024 preseason and is looking forward to his 2025 campaign. Despite suffering an injury that often requires nine months of recovery, Clark had a phenomenal Spring camp and is on pace to make his debut in a Longhorns uniform this fall.
“(I’m) super impressed,” Sarkisian said. “Anytime you have a significant injury like that, and you miss an entire season, you’re always kind of monitoring, what are they going to look like when they really start to come back? And I could feel it in winter workouts… As practice has started, [Christian Clark] looks in tremendous shape. He’s right back to having great balance and body control, which is something that we identified in the recruiting process.”
Outlook for 2025
With the return of Baxter and Clark, Wisner’s versatility, and Gibson’s explosiveness, the Longhorns’ running back room is poised to be one of the most formidable in the nation. Their combined talents provide a balanced and dynamic rushing attack that will be crucial to the success of the Longhorns in the 2025 season. The Longhorns open the season on the road against the Ohio State Buckeyes on August 30—where Texas fans will get their first look at the 2025 running back room.
