The dismissal of projected starting running Greg Burrell following his arrest on Thursday has opened a late battle in spring practice for the starting running back position.
Despite the loss, Head Coach G.J. Kinne is happy about what the unit brings to the Bobcat offense.
“I’m excited about the running back group we got,” Kinne said. Those guys are super talented. They came out with the right mindset today. Really the whole team did, and yeah we're excited about what we got on the roster.”
The Bobcats now returning leading rusher is junior Torrance Burgess Jr who rushed for 367 yards and two touchdowns during the 2024 season. Burgess, a transfer from UTEP, had rushed for 95 yards and one touchdown in 2025 before a season-ending injury forced him to miss the season. For his career, Burgess has rushed for 1,085 yards and 208 carries with Kinne comparing him to former Bobcat running back Lincoln Pare.
“I've known TB for a really long time,” Kinne said. “Unbelievable kid and a great player. I thought before he got hurt last year in his role that he might have been playing his best football with his vision and quickness. He kind of has that same [mentality] of Lincoln Pare, doing everything right, is a great pass catcher, great vision and he's tough.
“He's made a lot of big plays for us throughout his career here and at his time at UTEP. He's played a lot of football, so really high on him.”
Also returning for the Bobcats is senior running back Jaylen Jenkins. Jenkins rushed for 170 yards on 31 carries and two touchdowns but was barely used within the running back rotation after the first four games.
Jenkins had success in the kick return game, returning the ball for 622 yards and one touchdown.
“He kind of got to break out last year on special teams,” Kinne said. “So I'm excited to see what he can do this year in more of a running back role.”
Though he redshirted last season, a player that has made strides this off-season and during spring practice is sophomore running back Taji Atkins
A transfer from Rice, Atkins rushed for 158 yards on 24 carries for the Owls.
“He keeps on stacking days and getting better,” Kinne said. “He's a home run hitter and bigger than you think. He's tough and physical. He’s another guy that we recruited extremely hard coming out of high school and was able to get him out of the portal. Really high on Taji and I think he's an unbelievable player.
The wild card of the running back redshirt freshman running back Davian ‘Diamond’ Jackson. The tallest and heaviest out of the running back room, Jackson transferred from Mississippi State and was originally slated to play at wide receiver before making the switch to running back.
“You look at him out there, you see he's 6 '1, 200 pounds,” Kinne said. “One of the top five fastest guys on the team. If you ask the tight-ends and safeties, he'd be one of those five that really has had an outstanding spring and probably surprised me [the most]. You never know what the move from receiver to running back but if you go watch some of his high school film, that was really what gave me the idea that he's played running back.
“It might not be exactly what we're teaching them and all that and more just ‘Hey, go run the ball,’ but he's doing a great job.”
Texas State concludes spring practice Saturday with the Maroon and Gold Spring Showcase.
