Texas Longhorns Player Spotlight: RB Christian Clark

A four-star in the 2024 recruiting class, Clark was the No. 23-ranked running back in the 247Sports Composite. Receiving 27 offers over the span of his recruitment, Clark chose the Longhorns over the likes of Alabama, Florida State, Oregon and Georgia, which made up his top five finalists.

Evaluated by 247Sports' mountain region recruiting analyst Blair Angulo in May 2023, Clark was described as a back who "projects as a multi-year starter at the elite Power Five level."

Clark's torn Achilles injury ahead of his freshman season was a devastating setback to a promising prospect in Texas' backfield room. But as he returned to Texas practice -- faster than expected -- in the lead up to the 2025 season, he made clear that injury won't define his collegiate potential.

“(I’m) super impressed,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said in April. “Anytime you have a significant injury like that, and you miss an entire season, you’re always kind of monitoring, what are they going to look like when they really start to come back? And I could feel it in winter workouts… As practice has started, he looks in tremendous shape. He’s right back to having great balance and body control, which is something that we identified in the recruiting process.”

Clark did not record a carry in Week 1 in the loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes. But with head backs Quintrevion Wisner and CJ Baxter out injured in multiple games each over the following weeks, Clark was part of the depth to step up in their place.

Alongside Jerrick Gibson and James Simon, Clark has helped a Texas rushing game -- currently averaging 202.8 yards per game -- keep rolling. He has looked like a bright spot out of the backfield in the passing game as well.

Even with a healthy running back group coming out of the bye, Clark could maintain a role through the remainder of the season primarily due to his capacity to contribute as a pass-catcher. In his bye week press conference on Monday, Sarkisian mentioned that his coaching staff has decisions to make on the depth chart of the Texas backfield.

"I think that that's what this week is for," Sarkisian said. "We really [have] got to start to address as (Wisner and Baxter) start finding their way back, and now we've got five of these guys that have carried the ball and we know can carry the ball. And we start to look at their strengths and areas of maybe where we think they can improve and need to improve. ... We just have to be honest with ourselves and be honest with the players so that they know their role and what we expect of them moving forward."

Sarkisian indicated that the Longhorns could experiment more with multiple-RB formations and will continue to evolve their scheme and creativity as the season continues.

Clark could very well be involved as an explosive, versatile back looking to prove himself in response to a frustrating opening year result. He is a guy to keep an eye on as the Longhorns begin their Southeastern Conference campaign next week in Gainesville.