Two days ago, IT’s own Eric Nahlin dropped one of the biggest pieces of positive news Texas fans could have received six weeks away from the beginning of the 2025 season.
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CJ Baxter, one of the best freshman running backs in 2023 and the top RB recruit in his class, has returned to the practice field and is cleared to play football. This marks the first time Baxter has been able to put on pads since tearing both his LCL and ACL in his right knee just ahead of the 2024 season.
At the time, it was a huge loss, as Texas expected the incoming sophomore to become a true lead back and arguably the best rusher in the SEC. Instead, Longhorn fans will have to temper expectations about his workload and game speed heading into his third year on campus due to the nature of his injury 11 months ago.
Baxter’s return raises the question: just how good is Texas’ running back room in 2025?
PFF had an answer, publishing an article that ranked Texas behind only Penn State and Notre Dame as the No. 3 group of ball carriers in the nation. As Max Chadwick wrote: “While the Longhorns didn’t have a top-10 running back on my list, their backfield is still loaded.”
We’ve compared Texas to the other four teams ranking in the top five in betting odds plenty of times on this board, but the running back position presents an interesting case. Those four teams—Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State—have all seen significant changes in their RB rooms year-to-year, and not all of it has been for the better.
To get it out of the way, Penn State has the best RB room in the nation. In a low-scoring, clock-management-based game, they could outlast anyone. Both Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen should be playing in the NFL this year, but NIL is one hell of a drug.
Georgia, Ohio State, and Oregon all lost RBs to the draft, with Ohio State seeing the third and fourth RBs off the board come from Columbus. These three teams took very different approaches to replacing those touches.
Oregon has the highest upside of this group, as Tulane transfer Makhi Hughes has immense potential as a runner. He’s amassed nearly 2,800 yards over the last two seasons in the AAC on 5.3 yards per attempt and recorded 19 runs of 15+ yards last season. He may be the best back outside of Singleton among the elite teams. Additionally, Oregon returns veteran Noah Whittington, a great No. 2 bruiser to have on any team.
Ohio State and Georgia appear to be staying internal with their RB rooms next year. Both teams added RB2s from P4 schools, but the expected workhorses are Nate Frazier and James Peoples. These two joined Jerrick Gibson as three of the top eight RB recruits in the 2026 class, with Frazier ranked at No. 2. Here’s how those three compared last year:
Similar to Hughes, there’s reason to believe Frazier is the RB2 among this group of teams. He was productive last year and played a big role in games against Clemson, Florida, and Tennessee. He’s the reason Georgia may return to their dominant ways in the run game, given his prospect pedigree.
Peoples is an interesting case. He didn’t get much opportunity behind two second-round RBs, and most of his stats are inflated from touches against Western Michigan. Would Texas fans be comfortable with Jerrick Gibson as the undisputed RB1 next season? Probably not, and that’s essentially the situation with Peoples. This could be a big weakness for an otherwise great OSU offense.
While Texas may not have an RB as productive as Hughes or with Frazier’s potential, there’s a strong argument for them being the No. 3 team. Among the ten or so teams likely to contend for a national championship next year, two things are certain: Singleton and Jeremiyah Love are the best backs in the nation, and no team has a third or fourth RB as strong as Texas.
The Longhorns will field Tre Wisner (1,064 yards in 2024), Baxter (659 yards in 2023), Gibson (No. 7 recruit in the 2024 class), and Christian Clark (seemingly superhuman body recovery skills). Programs like Alabama, which lost their top RB to the portal, or the top four groups that rely on just two players carrying the ball, lack this kind of depth.
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With Baxter back in action, Texas is extremely deep at a position prone to injuries—just look at Baxter and Clark last year. Though no single player may emerge as a star or top-100 NFL pick, the collective strength of this room will be a key asset for the 2025 Longhorns and could become a decisive factor when national championships are on the line.
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