No. 3 RB Bijan Robinson announces commitment to Texas

Tom Herman’s 2020 class now features a new headliner.

To cap what can be described as nothing short of a seismic shift in his recruitment throughout the previous several days, Tucson (Az.) Salpointe Catholic running back Bijan Robinson brought his recruitment to a close on Friday and announced his commitment to the Texas Longhorns on Instagram.

Ohio State, USC, and UCLA were each options, as well.

A five-star talent, Robinson’s decision is especially notable given that at this time last week, it was widely expected that the Longhorns would finish on the outside looking in.

Despite reportedly naming the Longhorns as his leader in an Instagram Live segment on June 12, momentum quickly changed hands just days later following Robinson’s June 14 official visit to Ohio State. Robinson did officially tour Texas the following weekend for the Heat Wave pool party, but as the days passed, an influx of Crystal Ball picks flooded in favoring the Buckeyes. Various murmurs even surfaced in July hinting that Robinson had silently committed to Ohio State.

Expectations that Robinson was Columbus-bound remained intact throughout the next several weeks — that was, at least, until commitment week.

On Sunday morning, news suddenly surfaced suggesting that not only was Ohio State no longer in line for his pledge, but the Buckeyes abruptly became an afterthought and were all but written off entering the final days of his recruitment, as noted by Taylor Lehman of Eleven Warriors.

“[The Ohio State staff] were informed that the Buckeyes, who were written in ink as the favorite to land Robinson’s commitment since his visit in June, are now no longer the favorite and have only a small chance to earn his commitment.”

In the almost immediate aftermath of this news, the coming hours and days saw virtually every bit of momentum that the Buckeyes so comfortably enjoyed as of Saturday evening alter entirely in favor of Texas, potentially with the help of the dead period being in the rearview. Some minor USC chatter did surface at the front end of the week, and understandably so as Robinson has family in the area and officially visited the Trojans weeks ago, but those rumblings faded almost immediately. So much so, in fact, that by as early as Tuesday morning, the national expectation was that Robinson would be a Longhorn.

Those expectations and the multitude of Crystal Ball picks that poured in as of late have now proven correct. As a result, Robinson provides the Horns with their first five-star running back since the Mack Brown era when Johnathan Gray joined Texas’ 2012 class.

Robinson’s film reveals that he’s every bit worth his ranking as the nation’s No. 3 running back prospect, per the 247Sports Composite.

Robinson stands at a solid 6’0, 200 pounds, but his rushing style features far more finesse than his size may indicate. Robinson boasts excellent vision and tremendous burst around the line of scrimmage, and once he crosses into the second level, his lateral quickness and elusiveness is nothing short of an elite level. Such is largely why more times than not, Robinson makes multiple defenders miss en route to explosive runs.

When translated to the stat sheet, Robinson’s 170 rushes last season netted 35 scores and 2,400 yards, which was good for 14.1 yards per carry.

Now the top-ranked talent in Texas’ 2020 class at No. 20 nationally, Robinson’s addition lifts the class to No. 15 nationally and No. 1 in the Big 12.

• Bijan Robinson — 5-star RB — Tucson (Az.) Salpointe Catholic
• Hudson Card — 4-star QB — Austin Lake Travis
• Ja’Quinden Jackson — 4-star QB — Duncanville
• Vernon Broughton — 4-star DT — Houston Cy Ridge
• Prince Dorbah — 4-star WDE — Dallas Highland Park
• Jaylen Garth — 4-star OT — Port Neches-Groves
• Jake Majors — 4-star C — Prosper
• Kitan Crawford — 4-star CB — Tyler John Tyler
• Logan Parr — 4-star OG — Helotes O’Connor
• Van Fillinger — 3-star SDE — Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon
• Andrej Karic — 3-star OT — Southlake Carroll
• Jaden Hullaby — 3-star ATH — Dallas Bishop Dunne