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AUSTIN — The last time Chris Warren III appeared in a game for Texas, the Longhorns had a winning record, were still at least on the verge of a team many thought were poised for a comeback and D’Onta Foreman was just beginning his breakout junior season.

That was almost exactly 10 months ago.



Since Warren went down with a knee injury against Oklahoma State in October, he’s continued to be plagued by health issues. He was injured in the first scrimmage of the spring with a hamstring issue, missing a large part of the 15 team practices. He then sat out with the mumps earlier this summer.



But heading into his junior season and a week into preseason practice, Texas believes, or at least hopes, Warren is back on a healthy path.



“It pushed him back a little bit, he wasn’t the only one,” said running backs coach Stan Drayton after Tuesday’s practice. “He missed some days in the weight room, missed some days on the field. But he’s made up that time and you missed a workout here you still have to make it up so he made up his time. He’s functional.”



At the moment, no “bell cow” has emerged for Drayton at the running back spot. It’s just a “committee of backs” competing for lead roles, he said.



Sophomore Kyle Porter finished the spring at the No. 1 spot and entered camp there as well last week. That leaves Warren to make a big impact during the rest of this preseason. He entered camp listed at 250 pounds and Tom Herman said after the first practice that Warren did “everything right this summer.”



Now comes Warren’s biggest challenge — staying healthy. He has a chance to have a prominent role in Texas’ offense with the Longhorns relying heavily on the run game and looking for someone to fill the void left by 2,000-yard rusher Foreman.



Warren tallied 470 rushing yards and four touchdowns as a freshman while appearing in just eight games. Last season he was on track for a near 1,000-yard season before his injury.



Drayton sees improvements. It’s just now a matter of keeping them.



“The thing he’s doing the best right now is he’s respecting the game,” Drayton said. “He’s been a little bit of a lethargic football player in the past in regards to practice. I think he's becoming a better practice player, and I think he needs to continue to do that for the rest of his career, play the game on the practice field. I think that’s the biggest improvement and the biggest need for improvement heading into training camp.”