By Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer
AUSTIN, Texas — If you have some college eligibility left and can play running back, Texas coach Tom Herman might be willing to take your phone call. It’s almost that desperate of a situation in the Longhorns’ running back room.
The 10th-ranked Longhorns, already shorthanded at the position because of injuries to two scholarship backs and a key walk-on, lost another, freshman Jordan Whittington, to a hernia injury Saturday in a 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech.
That means Texas will[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] head to this week’s titanic battle with No. 6 LSU with only starter Keaontay Ingram and two players switched from other positions, freshmen Roschon Johnson and David Gbenda, healthy and ready to go at running back. Until two weeks ago, Johnson was working as UT’s third-team quarterback. Gbenda, listed on the Longhorns’ roster as a linebacker, carried 13 times and scored five touchdowns last season as a senior at Katy’s Cinco Ranch High School.
Johnson had seven carries for 26 yards in the win over Louisiana Tech.
“I thought he played really well for the limited minutes that he got,” Herman said about Johnson. “He’ll certainly get a lot more this week. He’s taken to (running back) like a fish to water.”
Herman said Johnson’s competitiveness and willingness to do anything to get on the field have been factors in him learning the position on the fly.
“When (Johnson) makes a mistake, he’s really hard on himself,” Herman said. “It’s like ‘Ro, you’ve been playing this position for 10 days. We kind of understand it’s not going to be perfect.’”
Ingram, who suffered a knee injury in preseason camp, played well in the win over the Bulldogs, compiling 121 yards from scrimmage, including 78 rushing yards and a touchdown.
“Keaontay played well, played really well physically,” Herman said. “He was a little too excited sometimes, lacked a little bit of patience on a couple of runs. He ran into the back of his o-linemen a couple times but once he got into the open field he was really good.”
Whittington, who was playing through pain from the hernia throughout the spring and summer, tore it off the pubic bone while being tackled after a second-quarter catch against Louisiana Tech.
Herman said Monday that Whittington would be sent to Philadelphia “to have one of the godfathers of that surgery” repair the hernia, and that the Whittington would be out at least four weeks but more likely longer.
A Texas spokesman later said the surgeon’s name is Dr. William Meyers, who is one of the leading experts in the procedure Whittington needs.
Herman downplayed any change to his game plan for LSU because of the lack of depth at running back.
“Now if both those guys get hurt the game plan will change significantly,” he said. “LSU is really good against the run, too. Let’s not think that they’re not. It will not change the game plan. We’re confident in Keaontay. We’re confident in Roschon.”
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