Texas RB Bijan Robinson ready to guide Quinn Ewers vs. Louisiana-Monroe

Saturday may be Quinn Ewers’ first start at Texas. But not for Bijan Robinson.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian wanted Robinson to become more of a vocal leader this season, and he is. But the running back’s best attribute may be the calming effect he’ll bring to the huddle, now led by a redshirt freshman.

The Longhorns have been impressed with Ewers’ stable emotions on the practice field. When he throws an interception, Ewers doesn’t sulk or pout, several players said. He just jogs to the sideline and takes coaching, Robinson said.

“I mean, I tell him all the time, if you’re unsure of any small little details or anything that you need, I’m here. I’m right next to you. So you can just ask me anything,” Robinson said Monday.

“We know we run a lot of things,” he added. “We put defenses in a bind sometimes because we have so many plays. So, if you need anything from me, all you have to do is just kind of ask me right here, right beside them. And I'll just, you know, give the information.”

Robinson has total confidence in Ewers, who played in just one game at Ohio State but did nothing more than hand the ball off. Ewers hasn’t seen real defensive pressure since his junior season at Southlake Carroll.

“I think he’s feeling pretty comfortable where he’s at right now,” Robinson said. “I think that this week of practice is going to be important for him. Last week was really good for him. So we’ll see how he comes out for the rest of the days and practice.”

The players who spoke with reporters on Monday had a true belief this year will be drastically different.

“I think us having another year on our belt with this with this playbook and with the same coaching staff and system, I think has helped helps out a lot,” defensive tackle Keondre Coburn said.

Fellow defensive tackle Moro Ojomo said, “I mean, definitely. We’ve completely revolutionized this team in the last two years. While Sark has been here. Sark is a great coach. We have great assistant coaches. The culture is completely different.”

Robinson joked that “everybody’s talking about the Alabama game and everything.” But first comes Louisiana-Monroe, a 38-point underdog led by coaching warhorse Terry Bowden. His team is picked to finish last in the Sun Belt’s West division.

“The reality of it is, this is an important week for us from a competition standpoint, because a lot of guys are going to play, it’s early in the season, it’s going to be warm,” Sarkisian said Monday. “And we’ve got to make sure that our two-deep is very solid.”

Contact Brian Davis by phone or text at 512-445-3957. Email bdavis@statesman.com or follow on Twitter via @BDavisAAS.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas RB Bijan Robinson ready to help Quinn Ewers vs. Louisiana-Monroe