Goodbye, fast food. Quintrevion Wisner has another 1,000 yards to rush for

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas junior running back Quintrevion Wisner loves two things: McDonald's and talking smack to the defense in practice. He had to give one of them up this season, so unfortunately for the Austin fast food economy, the 10-piece chicken nuggets and McDouble had to go.

It's a small step in his maturation process, becoming a more vocal leader as one of the upperclassmen in the running back room, and the only returning 1,000-yard rusher in the Southeastern Conference this season. He said he gained "a few pounds" over the summer, so changing his eating habits and dialing in his nutrition is part of his plan to rush for 1,000 yards again this season.

"I have to keep my body healthy because it's crunch time again," he said. "Another thing is my open field tactics, like making safeties miss in the open field. As long as I've got the O-Line to take care of the box, the safeties are what I'm worried about."

As for the smack talk, everyone is in on it. It's not just Wisner blowing up his teammates. It helps raise the intensity level and brings the team closer, he said.

"At the end of the day, as much as we want to go out and beat on other teams, it starts within ourselves," Wisner said. "We have to tap into the defense. Talking smack not only gives me a rush, but it gives the guys behind me on offense one, too. We are only going to go as far as the defense lets us go."

After all, head coach Steve Sarkisian said the defense was "ahead" of the offense at this point of training camp. He also said Wisner torched the defense for a long run earlier in the week, so it can be assumed that the competitive juices have been flowing on the practice field.

After CJ Baxter went down with a knee injury that ended his season before it began, Wisner was thrust into the limelight. He became the featured running back for the Longhorns earlier than anticipated, and his response was exactly what the Longhorns needed. He tallied 1,375 scrimmage yards on 270 touches with six touchdowns, displaying an array of skills both running and receiving. His big year last year landed him on the Doak Walker Award and Maxwell Award watch lists.

With Baxter back, a guy Wisner calls "his brother," he knows his role is going to change slightly, but his effort certainly won't.

"I just try to stay in my lane, do what I do on the field, and come back and work again," he said. "I'm going to let my work do the talking."