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The Texas football team picked up a much-needed boost at the running back position on Wednesday as SMU football transfer Velton Gardner is joining the Longhorns. Texas football has had a rough past month in terms of injuries as they have seen two RBs go down, and one of them was a season-ending injury to their starter, CJ Baxter. Gardner gives the Longhorns some important depth and experience at the position.
“SMU RB Velton Gardner posted on Instagram that he’s joining the Longhorns,” Brian Davis said in a post. “Grad transfer gives the Horns solid experience boost. Has 1,024 career yards, 6 TDs.”
Velton Gardner has played five seasons of college football now and Texas football will be his third school. Gardner started his career with Kansas back in 2019 and he played with the Jayhawks for three seasons before transferring to SMU. He then spent two seasons with the Mustangs, and he is coming to Texas as a grad transfer.
Gardner got a decent amount of carries during his first year at Kansas, but his workload never really increased throughout the five years that he has played. He ran the ball 26 times for 138 yards and two touchdowns that first season. Now, after five years, he doesn't have more than 72 carries in a season. Last season, Gardner had 32 carries for 137 yards and one touchdown.
It is going to be interesting to see what kind of role Gardner has at Texas this season, but one thing is certain: The Longhorns needed this pickup. Depth at the RB position is extremely thin after the unfortunate injuries that this team has endured in the past month, and having someone with experience who can come in right away and carry the football is huge.
Texas football RB injuries
CJ Baxter was the first Texas football RB to go down with an injury during camp, and Baxter was expected to be the starting RB. He injured his knee during practice, and the injury required season-ending knee surgery.
Shortly after Baxter went down with his injury, a second Texas RB suffered a season-ending injury as freshman Christian Clark went down with a torn ACL. The goal of camp is to make it out healthy, but that's a tall task in football.
Quarterback Quinn Ewers is obviously disappointed about these injuries, just like the rest of the Longhorns, but he is confident that Texas has enough depth to be okay.
“It definitely hurts to see that go down,” Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers said, according to an article from ESPN. “Injuries do happen. It's just a part of the game we play. I think [running backs coach Tashard] Choice and Coach Sark do a good job of recruiting good running backs that can ultimately fill in the position if needed.”
At the end of the day, if Texas needs someone to run the football, Ewers is willing to do it.
“The team definitely needs that positivity every now and then for sure whenever a couple guys like that go down in that room,” Ewers said, according to an article from The Associated Press. “We have guys who are going to be more than capable stepping up and filling up those roles. …Ultimately I’m doing what I can to help this team win football games. If that means I have to run more, so be it.”
We definitely might see Ewers use his legs a bit more this year, but the addition of Velton Gardner is a big one for Texas and he should be able to pick up some of the slack.
