Texas junior running back D’Onta Foreman will leave college for this spring’s NFL Draft, Sports Illustrated’s Pete Thamel reported Wednesday. The news comes three days after Texas introduced Houston’s Tom Herman as its new head coach, and as Herman’s still filling out his first Longhorns staff.
Tom Herman’s best new offensive weapon reportedly leaving Texas for NFL Draft
Texas’ new coach will figure out a way to score points, but he apparently won’t have a 2,000-yard returning rusher.
Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports
Foreman ran for 2,028 yards this season, leading the country by 120 yards despite only playing in 11 games. His 15 touchdowns are second in the Big 12 to Oklahoma receiver Dede Westbrook (16). Even in the context of that conference’s lackluster defense, what Foreman did was pretty outrageous. He had an incredible season by any standard.
His exit sets back a Texas offense that had talent but underachieved at times under Charlie Strong and coordinator Sterlin Gilbert. Everything seemed swell for the Horns after they dropped 50 points on Notre Dame in a season-opening win, Gilbert’s first game as coordinator. But true freshman QB Shane Buechele eventually looked like a true freshman QB, even one with lots of talent. The line wasn’t great, and Texas finished the regular season averaging 32 points per game, 50th nationally.
Through it all, Foreman was a constant. He ran for at least 124 yards in every game he played, and he wasn’t the reason Texas went 5-7. Without him, things would’ve been worse. Replacing his production will be a tough early task for Herman.
That Foreman is leaving doesn’t come as a stunner. After Texas lost to TCU in what turned out to be Strong’s last game before being fired, Foreman collapsed in tears on the field. He also said this:
Foreman toted the ball an incredible 323 times this season, in addition to a handful of receiving targets and his pass-blocking duties. He put a lot of tread on his tires, and it’s hard to tell anyone to wait on NFL money after putting in that kind of work.
Foreman was the far-and-away key figure in Texas’ running game, although backup running back Chris Warren III also chipped in 366 yards on 62 runs. Foreman took 54 percent of the Horns’ total carries, and his 6.3-yard average led the roster.
With Warren injured down the stretch, Kyle Porter was listed behind Foreman on Texas’ last two-deep depth chart of the year, carrying 46 times for 206 yards in 2016. Herman’s got about nine months to figure out how he’d like to try to replace Foreman’s production.
See More:
