AUSTIN, Texas — Steve Sarkisian’s plan to scheme up more explosive plays offensively this season includes more touches for Texas Longhorns redshirt junior running back/wide receiver Ryan Niblett, the dynamic return man who scored two punt return touchdowns last season, the Aldine Eisenhower product told the media on Thursday.
“Not a set number, but they are definitely trying to put me in there a lot more,” Niblett said.
The goal for head coach Steve Sarkisian comes as Niblett received preseason second-team
All-SEC recognition from the coaches last month, a surprising pick — while Niblett did have a 39-yard reception against Sam Houston last season, the longest play from scrimmage among his 24 career touches, his 13 total touches in 2025 went for a modest 75 yards (5.8 yards per touch).
The first-team pick, Texas A&M wide receiver Mario Craver, did most of his damage in 2025 as a pass catcher with 917 yards and four touchdowns in addition to 11 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown. Last season, the first-team pick was A&M wide receiver KC Concepcion had a similar profile to his then-teammate Craver, as did second-pick selection Isaiah Sategna, the explosive Oklahoma wide receiver.
The second-team pick two years ago, Kentucky’s Barion Brown, a 5’11, 175-pounder, is a better comparison to the 5’10, 189-pound Niblett, although it only goes so far — Brown was a wide receiver who received a few carries gaining 50 yards and scoring a touchdown on the ground in 2024. In his best collegiate season as a runner, 2023, he picked up 147 yards and a touchdown.
If that’s a conference-wide look at the players who received similar all-purpose recognition, the more instructive look at how Sarkisian might use Niblett comes from Keilan Robinson, another explosive return man who served in a hybrid role for the Longhorns over three seasons after transferring from the Crimson Tide in 2021.
Robinson made his biggest impact that year, his first on the Forty Acres, earning honorable mention Big 12 Newcomer of the Year recognition after rushing for a career-high 322 yards and tying his career high with three rushing touchdowns. In 2022, Robinson made an impact through the air with 219 receiving yards and all three of his career receiving touchdowns.
The longest play from scrimmage of Robinson’s Texas career was a 65-yard touchdown run against Rice in 2021 when Sarkisian dialed up an outside zone run from the Pistol in 12 formation with the run hitting behind the attached tight end and a block from a wide receiver who motioned in from the field, where the other wide receiver was also aligned. When tight end Cade Brewer got a hat on the defender in the hole and the linebacker and safety for the Owls both took bad angles, Robinson was out into the open field, outclassing the Rice players with his speed.
This season, however, Sarkisian seems more likely to use Robinson as a gadget player in personnel packages with another running back, a tight end, and two wide receivers — 21 or 11 personnel, depending on whether Niblett is considered a running back or a wide receiver.
A 57-yard touchdown run by Robinson against Oklahoma State in the 2023 Big 12 Championship game looks more similar to how Sarkisian could use Niblett in 2026.
It’s a gap scheme from 21 personnel with some window dressing — Jordan Whittington on return motion and a run fake to CJ Baxter to the field, holding two defenders to that side as Robinson ran behind a combo block from the two pulling offensive linemen, finding a crease and once again beating two defenders, one who took a bad angle and the other who fell for Robinson’s shoulder fake inside, slowing enough to allow the speedy Robinson to take the sideline for the touchdown, poor technique on the defender’s part.
So although Sarkisian isn’t likely to just hand the ball off to Niblett on outside zone, he could receiver carries on staple run plays with similar misdirection as Robinson’s score against the Cowboys.
Another likely option is to hit Niblett on a wheel route like the Diamond formation that Sarkisian used to free Robinson for a 35-yard touchdown against Texas Tech for a 35-yard touchdown in 2022.
Whether it’s from the Diamond formation or another alignment, trying to work a wheel route for Niblett behind clear-out routes from Wingo and Cam Coleman certainly seems like the type of play that could work thanks to the gravity created by the big-play ability of Texas’ best wide receivers.
For Niblett to have a productive season on offense, the Longhorns will need to be able to execute when Sarkisian draws up screen passes for him, a play package for Niblett that largely went extremely poorly last season as defenses seemed to key on him.
On Niblett’s explosive play against Sam Houston, Sarkisian lined his hybrid threat up as one of three players to the boundary, along with tight end Jack Endries and wide receiver Ryan Wingo, motioning Endries at the snap before throwing a bubble screen to Niblett as the right guard and right tackle both released to make lead blocks for Niblett.
The play late in the second quarter of the 55-0 win didn’t quite unfold as drawn up on the chalkboard as Wingo missed his initial block, but right tackle Brandon Baker did get some contact as the center helped create a seam for Niblett to get down near the goal line on the 39-yard reception.
The other attempts to get Niblett the ball in the screen game didn’t go well. The lone screen to the left picked up seven yards, but required seven yards after contact. The six middle screens tracked by Pro Football Focus required a similar level of wizardry to avoid disaster, ultimately totaling just 15 yards while requiring 48 yards after contact to secure small gains on average.
Since Niblett played 33 of his 67 snaps on offense last season against overmatched non-conference opponents San Jose State and Sam Houston, the results of those screen passes to Niblett indicate some combination of defenses paying close attention to Niblett when he’s on the field and an inability by Texas to make the necessary blocks to create some openings for him to exploit.
Considering that Sarkisian has a remarkable number of screen plays to running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends available in his playblook — as many or perhaps more than any other offensive play caller in the country — the blocking struggles in the screen game are an area where the Horns really need to improve in 2026 to take pressure off of the running game and the downfield passing game. That’s a prerequisite for Sarkisian’s best offenses.
Last year, Manning threw for only one touchdown on screens compared to six touchdowns scored on screen passes by Mac Jones on the 2020 title-winning team and five by Quinn Ewers on the 2024 Texas team that made the semifinals.
So it’s certainly possible to envision scenarios in 2026 where an improved blocking operation all around would result in improved production on screen passes to benefit Niblett and allow for more than eight screen passes thrown to him. If someone is going to score touchdowns on screen passes for the Horns next season, Niblett is a candidate to score one or two.
Another consideration when discussing how many overall touches Niblett might receive this season? Sarkisian only uses tempo situationally as Texas averaged 65 plays per game last season, 12 fewer than a high-tempo team like East Carolina. Extending drives more frequently would close the gap, but the deliberate pace for the Longhorns does limit the number of available touches available to a gadget player like Niblett.
And the expectations for every gadget player should be tempered, no matter how fast they are and how good they are in the return game.
