Fozzy Whittaker
Six carries for 15 yards against Oklahoma State on Saturday was not good enough for the sophomore to keep his job as the starting running back. Cody Johnson was announced as the new starter and is the fourth starter the team has had at running back this year.
Johnson came into the season weighing 260 pounds, but slimmed down to 240, which has helped him become quicker. Johnson rushed nine times for 31 yards on Sunday in Texas’ victory over the Cowboys.
“Now I can make the cuts that I need and have the breakaway speed,” Johnson said.
Whittaker needs a big game on Saturday against Central Florida in order to reclaim the starting job.
Tre’ Newton
Newton earned his first start of the season on Sept. 26 against UTEP, but rushed just nine times for 25 yards and lost the starting spot. The redshirt freshman suffered a concussion the next week against Colorado, and hasn’t been able to break into the rotation at running back since then.
Dan Buckner
Someone needs to put an APB out for Dan Buckner. After having success early in the season as the Longhorns’ flex tight end, Buckner has been nowhere to be seen lately. He had just one catch against Oklahoma State and is seeing less playing time now that Texas is going with a three wide receiver set with Greg Smith at tight end instead of the flex set that had Buckner in the tight end spot. The coaches like having a true tight end on the field rather than the flex for the extra blitz protection and run-blocking.
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