Mack Brown: Malcolm Brown Should Play Against Iowa State

During the press portion of Texas Longhorns head coach Mack Brown's media availability on Monday, he revealed that sophomore running back Malcolm Brown should be able to make his long-awaited return this weekend against Iowa State.

The former starter at running back has missed every game since injuring his left ankle early in the game against Oklahoma State, though he was termed as available in an emergency against Kansas and was listed as probable against Texas Tech.

Playing on Saturday was an option, said the Texas head coach on Monday, but Brown had not practiced during the week, normally a preference for the coaching staff before letting a player participate in a game.

The two breakout performances by freshman running back Johnathan Gray have probably helped keep Brown on the bench to let him heal completely, even as sophomore back Joe Bergeron has seen his carries decrease the last two weeks after a strong performance against Baylor that included five touchdowns.

However, Gray has carried the ball almost 40 times in the last two weeks, and while that workload is not as heavy as the nearly 30 carries that injured Brown and Bergeron last year at this point in the season, Brown's return could help reduce the load shouldered by the freshman Gray to help keep the burgeoning star healthy for the rest of the year.