Choice will coach UT running backs

AUSTIN — Former Georgia Tech running backs coach Tashard Choice has become such a hot commodity that he landed jobs with two college football blue bloods in the span of a week.

On Dec. 12, Choice accepted an offer to join new USC coach Lincoln Riley’s staff. But three days later, longtime Texas running backs coach Stan Drayton agreed to become Temple’s new head coach, opening the door for Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian to poach Choice from Riley’s staff.

And that’s exactly what happened Saturday night, when Texas officially announced Choice would succeed Drayton as the Longhorns’ new running backs coach.

Choice, 37, starred at Georgia Tech and played a total of 88 games in the NFL for Dallas, Washington and Buffalo before retiring in 2014. He broke into coaching as volunteer at Waxahachie, then spent a year as a coaching intern with the Dallas Cowboys before serving as running backs coach at North Texas (2018) and Georgia Tech (2019-21).

“I am so excited and ready to go,” Choice said in a statement. “It was an easy decision for the simple fact that I get to be back in the state of Texas and working under Coach Sark and his great staff. You want to coach with good guys, and he has that, and then you look at the players in that backfield, that makes for a great situation. I’ve enjoyed watching those guys from afar and am really looking forward to coaching them every day. I knew it was going to be a great opportunity, and the more I talked to Coach Sark about it, it just felt right in every way.”

At Texas, Choice will get the chance to work with Heisman Trophy candidate Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson, Jonathon Brooks and incoming Klein Cain product Jaydon Blue.