AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas junior running back Jaydon Blue came into Saturday’s Southeastern Conference opener against Mississippi State after having one of the best games of his career the previous week. Unfortunately for him, Saturday didn’t go as well.
Blue fumbled twice, once in the red zone during the first half and on the first play of the second half, and he was benched for the remainder of the game. He ran for 37 yards on six carries with a 1-yard touchdown, but that was nowhere close to his 124-yard, 3-touchdown outburst against Louisiana-Monroe.
Part of it, Blue said, was the Mississippi State defense.
“It was hard, of course. The defense did a good job getting after the ball,” he said. “I have to do a better job of securing it so that doesn’t happen. It’s something to learn from going into next week and I’ll have a big emphasis on it.”
Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said he’s concerned about a player’s psyche when someone struggles like that.
“I hated that for Jaydon. No one wants to fumble,” Sarkisian said. “After the second fumble, we needed to make sure we didn’t lose him for the long haul. He’s a very talented player and he’s more than capable of taking care of the ball, but when it can get in your head, it can be a problem.”
Blue understood why Sarkisian sat him down and let Quintrevion Wisner get the bulk of the second-half carries.
“When you fumble twice like that, it can mess with your mental state,” Blue said. “I think he just wanted me to chill so if I went back in I wouldn’t focus on what happened.”
Coincidentally, Sarkisian didn’t even want to call the play that Blue fumbled on the first time. He said he “was beating himself up” about it during the game.
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“I had a call for that exact situation, and I didn’t call it. I called the run, and he fumbled,” Sarkisian said. “Coach Sark was getting cussed out in his own head.”
The fact Blue even showed up for postgame media availability speaks to his maturity and mindset. He could have opted out and not said a word to anybody about the rough night, but he gathered himself and his thoughts and discussed the situation.
Sixth-year linebacker David Gbenda noticed that and said Blue has “grown up a lot.”
“He’s bought into the program and understands that hard work is a crucial thing if he wants to keep getting better,” Gbenda said. “Coach (Tashard) Choice does a great job of coaching him hard and getting the best out of his backs. Seeing the formula and how much he’s embraced it, he’s going to be well off.”
Wisner provided a huge spark for the Longhorns rushing attack in the second half. Texas had 10 rushing yards in the first half and ended the game with 198. Wisner finished with 88 yards on 13 carries, and Blue said he was happy to see him play well.
“Tre is one of my closest friends on the team and he played pretty well,” Blue said. “It’s good when the younger players go in and we can still run the ball effectively.”
Texas averaged almost eight yards per carry in the second half after managing just 1.7 yards per carry in the opening half.
With one of two bye weeks during the season coming up next week, it’s ideal timing for Blue to work on carrying the ball and getting things ironed out ahead of the Red River Rivalry game with Oklahoma on Oct. 12. He’s still a vital part of the run game for the Longhorns.
Sarkisian isn’t worried about Blue. Bad games happen and he knows Blue is going to learn from his mistakes and get better.
“We’re going to need him throughout the season. I don’t want people to think we’re giving up on him,” Sarkisian said. “We’ll work on it this week with him and get it figured out.”