AUSTIN, Texas — Everything about the Texas rushing offense this preseason is a conundrum. But all the discussion boils down to whether the Longhorns really need a big-time runner to win a national championship.
Here's just a smattering of topics being tossed about as No. 2 Texas goes through its preseason workouts:
 KELLY WEST/Cox Newspapers Colt McCoy looks over the defense during a workout Wednesday night. The quarterback was the team's leading rusher in 2008 and doesn't miss chances to kid the running backs about that. For a larger, high resolution image, click HERE |
Who will start at tailback?
Answer: There are at least three candidates — and maybe more — but nothing will be decided until later this month.
Will there be a featured back?
Answer: Perhaps, but offensive coordinator Greg Davis said he doesn't think any back will carry 25 times a game.
Will the Longhorns try to force more running plays?
Answer: They didn't need to do much of it last season, but still came within one play of the national title game.
So far, the only clear consensus is that quarterback Colt McCoy — Texas' record-setting, fifth-year senior — will be the featured player on offense. His accuracy is uncanny and he also can run when needed.
McCoy expects to be better than last season, when he was the most accurate passer in NCAA history, completing 76.7 percent of his throws. But he also happened to be the Longhorns' leading rusher.
"We do not feel like it would be smart for us to take the ball out of Colt McCoy's hands and try to line up and run the ball," said Texas coach Mack Brown. "But we feel like we want to be more efficient in running the ball."
The coaches have crunched national statistics in nine categories for every season since 2000 to figure out which ones played the biggest part in actual wins and losses. They took the top 10 teams in each of the nine categories every year and determined their overall winning percentages.
Rushing offense ranked eighth, ahead of only pass defense, in the nine categories.
That's why the offensive coaches are gearing everything toward efficiency, as opposed to some set number of yards per game. And an efficient carry is at least four yards per carry on every play but short yardage and goal line.
Last season, the Longhorns, with four players starting at running back, averaged 167.5 rushing yards per game, with each run collectively gaining 4.3. There were only three 100-yard games posted by Longhorns runners.
All four of the tailbacks who made starts averaged at least four yards per carry.
McCoy rushed for 561 yards, or 4.1 per carry. Those numbers also reflected yardage lost in sacks. Davis estimated that about half of McCoy's 136 carries were called runs, either draws or zone reads.
However, the offense averaged 475.8 yards per game, which was ninth best nationally. It also was the second-best average in Brown's 11 seasons at Texas, behind the 2005 national champions with 512.1 yards a game.
McCoy said he has no idea whether he'll lead the team again in running, but he does like to gig the tailbacks with last year's stat line. And he's aware that Florida's Tim Tebow, a Heisman Trophy favorite with McCoy, led the national champion Gators in rushing a year ago.
"Don't think I don't give the running backs a little grief," McCoy said. "I'll do whatever I can to help. We're putting in some different stuff to help our running game."
The candidates for the starting job are sophomores Fozzy Whittaker and Cody Johnson and junior Vondrell McGee.
"All three of them bring something to the table," Davis said. "And until one of them does emerge, we'll have to keep doing what we're doing."
Suzanne Halliburton writes for the Austin American-Statesman. E-mail: shalliburton(at)statesman.com.
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