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The college football blue bloods are the most storied football programs in history. These lists feature the best players from the programs that are considered the blue bloods of college football, as well as the the programs who want to get there. 

College Football Blue Bloods

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College Football

<p>College football fans, we&rsquo;re ranking the best Texas Longhorns running backs of all time. It includes every starting running back&nbsp;throughout Texas Longhorns&nbsp;history, including current running backs and past ones. This&nbsp;Texas football roster&nbsp;has famous All-Americans, Texas running backs in the NFL, and Longhorns players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Featuring some of the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-minnesota-golden-gophers-running-backs/ranker-college-football?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">greatest college running backs of all time</a>, the best Texas&nbsp;RBs include Ricky Williams, Earl Campbell, and Jamaal Charles.</p>

<p>Who are the&nbsp;<a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-best-nfl-running-backs-of-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">greatest running backs</a>&nbsp;in Texas Longhorns history? Add your favorites if they&#39;re&nbsp;not&nbsp;all on this list of <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-texas-longhorns-football-players-of-all-time/ranker-college-football?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">University of Texas football</a>&nbsp;players who have played as running back.</p>


List of All Texas Longhorns Running Backs, Ranked Best to Worst

The Best Texas Longhorns Running Backs of All Time

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Earl Campbell

Earl Christian Campbell (born March 29, 1955) is a former American football running back who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints. Known for his aggressive, punishing running style and ability to break tackles, Campbell gained recognition as one of the best power running backs in NFL history.
He played college football for the University of Texas, where he won the Heisman Trophy and earned unanimous All-America honors in his senior season, as well as numerous other accolades. He was drafted first overall by the Oilers in 1978 and had an immediate impact in the league, earning NFL Rookie of the Year honors. Earl Campbell was named the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year in each of his first three seasons, during which he averaged nearly 1,700 rushing yards per season. He won the AP NFL Most Valuable Player Award in 1979 after leading the league in rushing yards and touchdowns.
With head coach Bum Phillips, Campbell's emergence in Houston coincided with the Luv Ya Blue era, a period of sustained success in which the Oilers made three straight playoff appearances. Campbell became the centerpiece of Houston's offense during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was traded to the Saints six games into the 1984 season, where he spent his final season and a half before retiring. Campbell was inducted into both the College Football Hall of Fame (1990) and Pro Football Hall of Fame (1991).  His jersey number is retired by the University of Texas and the Tennessee Titans.

Ricky Williams

Errick Lynne "Ricky" Williams Jr. (born May 21, 1977) is an American former football running back who played 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and one season in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the University of Texas, where he was a two-time All-America and won the Heisman Trophy. Williams was drafted by the New Orleans Saints fifth overall in the 1999 NFL Draft and spent three seasons with the team before he was traded to the Miami Dolphins in 2002. He played for the Dolphins for two seasons, and retired for the first time from football in 2004. Due to his suspension from the NFL in 2006, he played for the Toronto Argonauts that year. Williams re-joined the Dolphins in 2007 and played with them until 2010, and spent the 2011 season with the Baltimore Ravens. He was formerly an assistant football coach at the University of the Incarnate Word and is currently a football analyst for ESPN's Longhorn Network.  In 2015, Williams was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Jamaal Charles

Jamaal RaShaad Jones Charles (born December 27, 1986) is a former American football running back. He played college football for the University of Texas, and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft.
Charles's first year as a Chief was hardly in the spotlight; as a backup to halfback Larry Johnson, Charles rushed only 67 times for 357 yards. His breakout season came the following year in 2009. In his second year, Charles rushed 190 times for 1,120 yards, despite only starting 10 games after Larry Johnson was suspended. Shortly thereafter, Johnson was released, leaving Charles as Kansas City's starting halfback.
Charles is the all-time leader in yards per carry among players with at least 1,000 carries with 5.38 yards per carry.

Priest Holmes

Priest Anthony Holmes (born October 7, 1973) is a former American football running back who played eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Texas.  He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 1997.
Holmes earned a Super Bowl ring with the Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV over the New York Giants. After rushing for just over 2,000 yards in four seasons in Baltimore, Holmes experienced breakout success after signing with the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent in 2001. During his seven-year stint with the Chiefs, Holmes was a three-time All-Pro, three-time Pro Bowl selection and was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2002. Holmes sat out the 2006 season with a neck injury, and after a brief comeback attempt in 2007 retired from the NFL.  Holmes was also inducted into the University of Texas Hall of Honor and the Texas High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.

Cedric Benson

Cedric Myron Benson (December 28, 1982 – August 17, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns and was recognized as a consensus All-American. He was selected by the Chicago Bears with the fourth overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft and also played for the Cincinnati Bengals and Green Bay Packers.

D'Onta Foreman

D'Onta Foreman (born April 24, 1996) is an American football running back. He played college football at Texas.

Eric Metcalf

Eric Quinn Metcalf (born January 23, 1968) is a former American football player who was primarily known as a return specialist, but played running back and wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns, Atlanta Falcons, San Diego Chargers, Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers. He was a three-time Pro Bowl selection for the Browns and the Chargers. He was also the 1988 US Track and Field Champion in the long jump and a two-time NCAA Champion in the same event at the University of Texas.

Roosevelt Leaks

Roosevelt Leaks Jr. (born January 31, 1953) is a former All-American running back and 2005 inductee to the College Football Hall of Fame.  He was the first black All-American player in University of Texas history and went on to play in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts and Buffalo Bills.

Malcolm Brown

Malcolm Brown played as an American Football running back for the Army Black Knights.

Selvin Young

Selvin Young (born October 1, 1983) is a former American football running back. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Texas.

Steve Worster

Steve Worster (born 1949) is a former American football player. Following an outstanding prep career, he played halfback at the University of Texas under coach Darrell Royal. Worster was one of the original participants in the wishbone formation.

Chris Gilbert

Chris Gilbert was an American football player. 
Gilbert ran for 3,231 yards in 29 games for the University of Texas in 1966–68. He was the first player in NCAA history to record three 1,000-yard rushing seasons—rushing for 1,080 as a sophomore, 1,019 as a junior, 1,132 as a senior, averaging 5.4 yards per rushing attempt. He was All-Southwest Conference three times and consensus All-America in 1968. In his career, he returned 20 kickoffs, averaging 22.7 yards on each and scored 28 touchdowns in 29 games. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the fifth round of the 1969 NFL Draft but never played in the NFL. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

Terry Orr

Terrance F. Orr (born September 27, 1961) is a former American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and the San Diego Chargers. He played high school football for Cooper High School in Abilene, Texas, and college football at the University of Texas.
In August 2001, Orr was sentenced to fourteen months in prison for defrauding three former Redskins players (including Art Monk) and a Georgia businessman with a failed shoe company.

Shon Mitchell

Ted Koy

James Theodore Koy (born September 15, 1947 in Bellville, Texas) is an American football former tight end for the Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders of the National Football League.  He was drafted out of the University of Texas by the Raiders in the 1970 NFL Draft. He was a part of the Longhorns' 1969 National Championship team, playing in the same offensive backfield (halfback) with James Street (quarterback), Steve Worster (fullback) and Jim Bertelsen (halfback). His brother Ernie Koy, Jr. also played with the Longhorns and in the NFL. His father Ernie Koy played Major League Baseball from 1938 through 1942 for five teams, and also played football at Texas.

Jim Bertelsen

James Allen "Jim" Bertelsen is a former American football player, a running back for five seasons in the National Football League with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football at the University of Texas at Austin, and was a highly regarded high school football player in Wisconsin out of Hudson.
As a sophomore at Texas in 1969, he helped lead the Longhorns to a national championship in the Wishbone option offense, alongside James Street, Steve Worster, and Ted Koy.  As a senior in 1971, Bertlesen was the team's lead ground gainer. In his career at Texas (1969–1971), he rushed for 2,510 yards, averaging 6.1 yards a carry and 33 touchdowns, and also had nine 100-yard rushing games.
Bertelsen was selected in the second round of the 1972 NFL Draft, thirtieth overall, by the Los Angeles Rams. He averaged four yards per carry as a pro, and rushed for 854 yards in 1973.  After his NFL career, Bertelsen returned to the Austin area.

Cody Johnson

Cody Johnson is an American football running back.

Tommy Ford

Hodges Mitchell

Joe Bergeron

Johnathan Gray

John Walker

John Walker (born April 25, 1983) is a former arena football defensive back.

Phil Brown

Jimmy Saxton

James Everett Saxton Jr. (May 21, 1940 – May 28, 2014) was an All-American football  and College Hall of Fame player for the University of Texas and a finalist for the 1961 Heisman Trophy. He played one year of professional football, winning one AFL Championship with the 1962 Dallas Texans.

Rodrick Walker

College football fans, we’re ranking the best Texas Longhorns running backs of all time. It includes every starting running back&nbsp;throughout Texas ...