Dale Robertson

@sportywineguy

Takes a Horn to know a Horn. Freeman, family close to Earl Campbell. They speak regularly. Texans rookie D’Onta Foreman becomes the latest in a remarkable line of UT running backs to get his shot in the NFL – but the first since Campbell, an Oiler from 1978 through early in the 1984 season, to take it in Texas. Heisman Trophy-winners Campbell (right) and Ricky Williams, Cedric Benson, Priest Holmes and Jamal Charles have run for almost 41,000 yards as pros (Charles is starting anew as a Denver Bronco) while scoring 314 rushing touchdowns. As collegians, they totaled nearly 21,000 yards and scored 228 times on the ground. Campbell was the first overall draft pick in 1978, Benson went fourth to the Bears in 2005 and Williams fifth to New Orleans in 1999, when Mike Ditka traded every pick he had left to move high enough to take him. Foreman, like Charles, became a third-rounder, while Holmes, who didn’t have flashy college stats, went undrafted. But he became the first former rookie free agent to lead the NFL in rushing since Joe Perry in the 1950s when he gained 1,555 yards for Kansas City in 2001. A year later, Holmes was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year. His 86 rushing touchdowns – 48 of them scored in 2002-03 – even exceeded Hall of Famer Campbell’s 81 and Williams’ 72. Those are some tough acts to follow, D’Onta.