Just one snap into the second half of Saturday’s win over Mississippi State, running back Jaydon Blue committed what’s almost an unforgiveable sin for the Texas football team.

He fumbled the ball. Again.

After some tough conversations with head coach Steve Sarkisian and running backs coach Tashard Choice on the sideline, Blue found out he wouldn’t get back into the game after losing two fumbles. And Quintrevion Wisner, one of Blue’s closest friends on the team, found out he would get a heavy workload for the first time in his Texas career.

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Suddenly, the Longhorns’ change-of-pace back became a workhorse.

“I just knew at the time, my team needed me,” Wisner said. “Blue needed me, Coach Choice needed me, younger running backs in the room needed me. Anytime my teammates need me, I'm never going to back down from a challenge.”

Wisner, a 6-foot, 200-pound sophomore from prep powerhouse DeSoto, responded to the challenge with 13 carries for 88 yards, both career highs. Eleven of those carries and 78 of those yards came in the second half, when Texas seized control of the line of scrimmage and outscored Mississippi State 21-7.

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That’s a heavy workload for a back who had just 31 career carries entering the game. It seemed to weigh even more considering Wisner had missed the previous game against Louisiana-Monroe with a sprained ankle.

“We were fortunate enough to have Tre Wisner healthy,” Sarkisian said. “I thought he put on a heck of a second half for us and gave us a really nice spark in the game."

'You have to do your job'

Receiver Isaiah Bond, who had five catches for 74 yards, said Wisner “definitely came in and stepped up.”

“Coach Sark always preaches, if someone comes in the game, he expects no drop off, so he came in and did his job,” he said.

And what message did Sarkisian send to the rest of the team by benching Blue after his two fumbles and giving the ball to Wisner?

“Whenever you're in the game, you have to do your job,” Bond said. “It doesn't matter who you are because, as everybody knows, we're deep. We have a lot of guys on our team that can play. So, you got to bring your A game every single game.”

Jaydon Blue shows support for Wisner

No one understands that better than Blue, who received public backing from Sarkisian after the game. Blue came out talked with the media following the win, taking blame for his fumbles and crediting Wisner for stepping up in a moment of need.

“Of course, I wanted to play, but coach Sark and coach Choice decided not to put me back in," Blue said. "But it's OK, because Tre (Wisner) is one of my closest friends on the team. I'm proud of how he played. I think he went in and played pretty well. So, it's always good when your younger players can go in and we could still be able to run the ball."

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: With Texas football struggling, RB Quintrevion Wisner has big game