Texas football and head coach Steve Sarkisian suffered a variety of injury difficulties during preseason camp in the past few weeks. During autumn practice, Texas lost both a starting running back and a scholarship athlete at the position for the 2024 campaign.
Updates on Texas football’s injuries heading into Week 1 against Colorado State
Texas was able to maintain some degree of health at other areas on both sides of the ball, aside from the running back position.
The Longhorns reduced the amount of full-contact team drills and scrimmages they had been doing over the last several weeks of preseason camp, including the second of the two fall scrimmages in August.
Texas now have the two-deep depth on both sides of the ball to handle any injuries that may arise during the season. For the Longhorns, who are about to play in their first season of college football in the greatest league in the SEC, this depth and talent across the roster on both sides of the ball is even more significant.
With the postseason field for the College Football Playoffs growing to 12 teams, the Longhorns’ extended possible season may also play a role.
This coming weekend at DKR versus Colorado State, Texas will play in Week 1 of the 2024 regular season with a rather well-documented injury report. Here are the three main injury updates for the Longhorns heading into their August 31 game.
Christian Clark and RB
A few weeks ago, Christian Clark, a true freshman running back, sustained a torn Achilles injury during fall camp that ended his season. During fall practice, the Longhorns lost Clark, their second on-scholarship running back, for the entire 2024 season.
Texas experimented with players from various positions during fall camp to make up for the depth lost due to injuries at running back. They also used the transfer portal just before the season began to get players. During practice in fall camp, Sarkisian and Tashard Choice offered chances at running back to redshirt freshman wide receiver Ryan Niblett and senior tight end Juan Davis.
Velton Gardner, a senior transfer running back from SMU Mustangs and former Kansas Jayhawk, was also added by the Longhorns through the portal, giving the backfield four healthy scholarship players going into the season.
I believe Davis will play a part as a wildcat back in select live-game offensive scenarios including short yardage and goal line situations.
With a back who has demonstrated success in power conference play and who isn’t scared to run between the tackles in Sarkisian’s ground game, Gardner can also offer reliable depth.
Baxter Jr., CJ, and RB
The knee injury that sophomore running back CJ Baxter Jr. sustained during fall camp proved to be the most significant setback for the Longhorns.
Anwar Richardson of Orangebloods reports that Baxter “underwent successful surgery” a few days ago in Dallas. Baxter is anticipated to be ready for the 2025 season to begin, having stated that he did not break his PCL “as Texas had originally feared.”
Before the preseason camp began, Baxter and junior Jaydon Blue fought for the running back practice reps on the first team. Now that the Longhorns are joining the SEC this autumn, Blue will assume the position of starting running back.
Towards the close of the previous campaign, Blue and Baxter shared the backfield runs for the Longhorns following the season-ending knee injury sustained by starting running back Jonathan Brooks in November versus TCU.
Despite the injuries, Sarkisian isn’t seeking to alter the offensive ground game game plan going into the fall, he stated in a press conference on August 26 in front of this Saturday’s Week 1 matchup with Colorado State.
“We intend to run the ball in between the tackles. The day they arrive here is when they learn how to run. Jaydon Blue has been an understudy for Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson, and Jonathan Brooks, and he is more than capable. Three years ago, I couldn’t have said that about him. These boys, Tre Wisner and Jerrick Gibson. We’re a physical football team that believes in both running the ball and stopping the run when we go for a team run.”
Baxter ran for 659 yards last season, averaging 4.8 yards per carry, and five touchdowns as a true freshman. Additionally, he hauled in 24 receptions for 156 receiving yards.
Texas will depend on Blue, Gardner, sophomore Tre Wisner, and true freshman Jerrick Gibson to carry the offensive load in the backfield this fall with Baxter and Clark sidelined for the season.
Jake Majors, C*
A lower-body injury that senior center Jake Majors dealt with during fall practice was the major injury precaution the Longhorns had along the offensive line. As a precaution, Majors was observed wearing a walking boot at Texas’s second autumn scrimmage a few weeks ago.
When Majors’ injury was initially announced during the Longhorns’ second fall scrimmage a few weekends ago, everyone anticipated that he would be ready to start for Kyle Flood in Week 1. Nothing that would refute the early claims that Majors will be fit for this weekend’s season opener against DKR has come to our attention.
Notable was Majors’ full participation in the Longhorns’ fall practice last week.
Majors, who has been Texas’ starting center since 2021, is back for his fourth season. With four of the five starters returning, he leads an offensive line that should be among the finest in the SEC, if not the whole P4 league, in 2024.
In actuality, their culture is our culture. That’s just who they are; it’s not something we’re trying to teach them. When you simply listen to them speak, I believe that they are speaking our language more than before. It seems like they are repeating what I have been saying for the past three to four years at times.”
This autumn, the fifth-year senior is a loud leader for the Longhorns’ offensive line both on the field and in the locker room. Just five players on the Longhorns’ current roster were part of this program prior to Sarkisian taking over as head coach in 2021. He is one of them.
