The Florida product is expected to provide the thunder in a new-look position room.
Texas Longhorns freshman running back Derrek Cooper isn’t shying away from the lofty expectations that have accompanied the consensus four-star prospect to the Forty Acres — in an Instagram reel on Tuesday, Cooper revealed that he’ll wear the No. 5 jersey this season.
It’s the same jersey that Bijan Robinson wore for the Longhorns on the way to the Doak Walker Award in 2022 as the nation’s top running back. Robinson finished his career in burnt orange and white fourth in school history in rushing yards (3,410) and total touchdowns (41).
Robinson was selected eighth in the 2023 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons and has since arguably emerged as the league’s top running back after surpassing Christian McCaffery and Barry Sanders for the most total career yards from scrimmage by any player under 24.
Cooper salvaged a vital running back class for the Horns that was going poorly before the Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna product committed to Texas over Florida State, Miami, and Ohio State, among others, despite the fact he didn’t take a summer official visit to the Forty Acres.
As Cooper inked with head coach Steve Sarkisian’s program during the early signing period, he finished the 2025 cycle as the nation’s No. 108 prospect and No. 7 running back, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, after recording 94 carries for 963 yards (10.2 ypc) and 12 touchdowns as a senior.
When Cooper committed BON’s Daniel Seahorn wrote the following evaluation of the 6’1, 201-pounder:
Cooper is a big, physical back at his listed 6’1, 205 pounds. He is a true three-phase player at the high school level, being the bell-cow running back offensively, while also being featured as a hybrid linebacker/safety defender and a key cog on special teams with multiple blocked punts on tape.
Cooper is a no-nonsense type of runner, as he isn’t the type who is going to waste motion behind the line of scrimmage. He gets downhill in a hurry and wants to get north and south without a bunch of lateral movement. Possesses a good burst when he sticks his foot in the ground and runs very hard and tough behind his pads. Will run through arm tackles regularly and has the shiftiness and quickness to make second and third-level defenders miss in space. Possesses the ability to BYOB (be your own blocker) when things go south in the backfield. Cooper is the type of back that is tough to bring down by one defender, as he is a very stubborn runner and will push a pile of defenders down the field.
Cooper has good, reliable hands out of the backfield as a receiver on tape and shows the ability to take short passes for large chunks of yardage. He possesses the speed on tape where he can punish bad angles and rip off explosive plays.
I love Cooper’s overall makeup because I think his toughness and willingness as a defender complement his running style as a back. He isn’t going to shy away from contact, and he is going to make you earn it anytime he touches the ball. Only carried the ball 124 times in 2024 and averaged 9.3 yards per carry, so there is still plenty of tread left on the tires as a runner. Has the ability to be a bell-cow back at the next level or be the thunder to someone’s lightning.
After losing five of the six running backs on the 2025 roster — rising redshirt freshman James Simon is the only returnee — Texas added Cooper and Georgetown product Jett Walker in the 2025 recruiting class and Arizona State transfer Raleek Brown and North Carolina State transfer Hollywood Smothers through the portal to revamp new assistant Jabbar Juluke’s position room.
The expectation is for Cooper to provide the thunder to the lightning and Brown and Smothers as Sarkisian seeks a more consistent, more explosive running game in 2026 to take pressure off star quarterback Arch Manning.
Cooper is the second running back to wear Robinson’s old jersey number after Quintrevion Wisner donned it in 2025 before transferring to Florida State. The previous two seasons, wide receivers AD Mitchell and Ryan Wingo wore the number.
Category: General Sports
