Texas football: 5 questions the Texas Longhorns must answer in 2020

Texas football is still looking to get back but has big questions in 2020. 

When Tom Herman took the helm as the head coach of Texas football, big things were expected from the Longhorns sooner rather than later. And after the 2018 season, they seemed headed distinctly in that direction with a 10-win outing. Unfortunately, they somewhat regressed this past year as Texas went just 8-5 in what has to be considered a disappointing campaign.

Herman’s seat isn’t necessarily hot at this point but the faithful in Austin look for Texas football to get back to the top of the Big 12 and, in their wildest of dreams, the College Football Playoff picture. This will be the team’s last chance with quarterback Sam Ehlinger to do that.

For that to happen, though, a talent-laden Texas football team has some big questions that they must answer in the 2020 season. Specifically, these five things must be addressed.

5. Can Bijan Robinson give the Texas Longhorns a dominant run game?

There’s no question that Sam Ehlinger is going to remain a big part of the Texas run game. He led the Longhorns in carries a year ago and was second on the team in rushing yard while also tying with two running backs for the team lead with seven touchdowns. Even if they dial his rushing back, that’s part of what makes him a valuable part of this offense.

Outside of Ehlinger, though, it was a two-man committee in the backfield that split the carries between running backs, though both were effective. Keontay Ingram had 144 carries for 853 yards and seven scores while Roschon Johnson had 123 totes for 649 yards and also seven touchdowns. Both players are returning but the party might be crashed.

Bijan Robinson is joining the program this season as a 5-star freshman with the talent to be an instant force in the Big 12. The No. 15 overall recruit in 247 Sports’ Composite rankings, Robinson comes to Austin with more raw ability than either Ingram or Johnson.

The question is if Herman will bank on experience given the truncated offseason or if he’ll immediately usher Robinson to the top of the depth chart. The freshman likely gives the Longhorns offense the highest upside and should play a part no matter what. But we’ll see if he establishes himself as the alpha.