Texas football: 5 breakout players to watch in 2020

Which five Texas football players could have breakout seasons in 2020?

Texas football has a terrific shot at reaching the College Football Playoff this season.

Of course, there are so many major caveats here. First, there needs to be a college football season. Even though the Big 12 is planning on playing this year, we’re still a month away from conference play commencing in this Power 5 conference. Two, will we even have a College Football Playoff? And three, who is to say the Longhorns are good enough to finally win the Big 12 again?

Texas does seem to be trending up this season. After winning the Sugar Bowl over the SEC’s Georgia Bulldogs at the end of the 2018 college football season, Texas regressed under head coach Tom Herman. The Longhorns were expected to contend with the arch-rival Oklahoma Sooners for a conference title and they didn’t even come close to getting back to Arlington.

However, the Longhorns still have Sam Ehlinger as their starting quarterback and should have one of the better teams in the Big 12 this year, along with Oklahoma, the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Iowa State Cyclones. But if Ehlinger, Herman and the rest of Texas want to win a conference title, several players are going to need to have breakout seasons for the Longhorns.

Here are five players who could have breakout seasons for Texas football.

He might only be a true freshman, but five-star recruit Bijan Robinson could be the answer Herman and the rest of the Longhorns offense were hoping for. Robinson was a high school football legend in his native Tucson, Arizona. He was averaging over 25 yards per carry during his high school career. Now, he has the tall task of being the reason Texas can finally be back.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Robinson was the No. 15 overall player in the 2020 recruiting class. He was the No. 1 running back in his class and the No. 2 overall player from Arizona, trailing only defensive back Kelee Ringo of Scottsdale, who committed to play his college football for the Georgia Bulldogs. At 6-feet and 200 pounds, Robinson is ready to get to work.

Admittedly, Robinson should probably be higher than fifth on a list like this in most years, but 2020 isn’t most years.  There’s also a pretty good chance the level of competition from playing among private schools in Arizona to the best teams in the Big 12 could be an issue.

Overall, Robinson should be able to contribute decently as a true freshman. He might be a superstar for the Longhorns right away, but there is a lot of variance with Robinson being a true freshman and his true freshman season coinciding with a global pandemic. We’re hoping he can be a Big 12 Freshman of the Year type of player, but we can’t be entirely sure of it just yet.