Texas Football Recruiting: RB Johnathan Gray Signs, Will He Push Malcolm Brown?

Just a year after signing the No. 1 running back in the country, Mack Brown has done it yet again. 

Johnathan Gray, the No. 5 overall prospect in the country according to Rivals.com, committed to the 'Horns in April 2011 and signed early Wednesday.

Gray likely watched last year's No. 1 running back Malcolm Brown rack up Freshman All-America honors and the Big 12's Newcomer of the Year award for the Longhorns in 2011. Yet, Gray apparently never wavered on his commitment to Texas.

Gray and Brown are virtually the same build. Brown is 6'0", 213 pounds. Gray is 5'10", 210 pounds. 

Brown started seven games in his freshman year and led the team in rushing with 742 yards and five touchdowns. The freshman missed a couple of games due to turf toe in early November, but his impact on the Longhorns was enormous in year one. 

The incoming Gray could have an equally important role in year one. It's never a bad thing to have two stud running backs. Remember when Alabama had Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson for two seasons?

Sure, one received the bulk of the carries and won a Heisman, but Richardson was an electric option compared to Ingram's battering-ram style out of that Alabama backfield. And one season after Ingram left, Richardson was a finalist for the Heisman as well. 

In other words, recruiting top running backs in consecutive seasons has been done before.

Granted, Gray and Brown are virtually the same type of player, but the nature of the running back position dictates that top teams must have depth at the position.

Perhaps no team in the country will be deeper at running back than Texas will be in 2012. 

Given the quarterback issues at Texas, having two able-bodied running backs could be the difference in competing for the Big 12 title or playing in another Holiday Bowl.