Texas hires highly respected running backs coach away from SEC program
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Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian announced on Friday afternoon that the Longhorns have hired Jabbar Juluke as their associate head coach for offense and running backs coach.
Juluke is heading to Austin for the 2026 season, but he’ll be sticking in the SEC after spending the past 4 seasons at Florida as the Gators’ associate head coach/running backs coach. While Juluke was in Gainesville, he oversaw the development of Florida star running back Jadan Baugh, who busted out in 2025 with 1,170 yards rushing and 8 touchdowns.
Texas, which went 9-3 during the regular season and narrowly missed out on making the College Football Playoff, hopes that Juluke can have a similar effect on its offense as he had on Baugh for the SEC rival Gators. Juluke brings a wealth of experience to Texas, with 30 years of coaching under his belt, including 13 years at the college level as a running backs coach.
Before Juluke’s time at Florida, he coached in similar roles at Louisiana from 2018-21 and Texas Tech in 2017. This will be Juluke’s 3rd stop in the SEC, as he also oversaw the running backs at LSU in 2016.
He has quite the background in the state of Louisiana aside of that season at LSU and those years at Louisiana, spending 3 years at Louisiana Tech from 2013-15. And before that, Juluke spent the first 17 years of his coaching career as a high school coach in Louisiana.
Now, Juluke will be taking on the challenges at yet another SEC school, as he begins another chapter of his coaching life at Texas in 2026.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
