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Longhorn running backs coach Stan Drayton landed a big one as the Texas Longhorns received a verbal commitment from talented Tucson running back Bijan Robinson. Robinson is a 5 star running back and he picked the Horns over Ohio State and USC. The 5-11, 200 runner is considered one of the Top 25 prospects in the country and 24/7 has him ranked as the #3 running back prospect in the nation.
His film is fantastic, even if you control for competition that looks like Texas 2A or 3A football. Robinson gets in and out of his cuts like greased lightning and has a lot of burst when he plants his foot and hits the gas. He also shows consistently good vision and an understanding of where defensive help is coming from.
Running backs that get in and out of their cuts quickly translate very well one level up. If there are any concerns for Bijan, it’s that he is not a workout warrior. He recorded a 4.77 40 and a 4.52 short shuttle, surprising numbers for an athlete with his on-field quickness, but his 36.8 inch vertical leap speaks to some of his evident quick twitch and explosiveness (update: these are old reported scores that may be two years old; which makes sense trying to figure out why the film wasn’t marrying to the stopwatch). Bijan is an upright runner, which helps him with vision and making wicked cuts, but he’ll need to learn to lower his pad level at or near contact when he encounters athletes that aren’t from southern Arizona high schools.
A big get for the Longhorns and a terrific way to start Fall Camp.
If you’re feeling good right now, there’s more reason to feel good about the Longhorns’ season prospects.
The 2019 Longhorn football season will be the ultimate determinant for how the promising 2020 and potentially dominant 2021 recruiting classes finish. Find out how Year Three will go for the Tom Herman era at Texas in the best Texas Longhorn Football preview in the multiverse.