Texas football faces setbacks as a key player is sidelined due to serious injuries

Texas football faces setbacks as a key player is sidelined due to serious injuries, Last Tuesday, sophomore CJ Baxter, the leading returning rusher from 2023, sustained a season-ending knee injury during practice, including torn lateral collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments. Then on Monday, freshman running back Christian Clark exited practice with an unspecified injury.

On Tuesday, Texas revealed that Clark had torn his Achilles and will require season-ending surgery. Clark, a 6-0, 210-pound recruit from Phoenix (Ariz.) Mountain Pointe, was ranked as the No. 23 running back nationally and No. 339 overall for the 2024 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite. Sources indicate that Clark was competing for the RB3 spot behind freshman Jerrick Gibson (5-10, 205) in the Longhorns’ running back rotation.

Gibson, a four-star recruit from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., was rated the No. 9 running back and No. 117 prospect overall in the 2024 class. Both Clark and Gibson have been adjusting to the college level during camp.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian noted that the freshmen running backs had some early struggles in their first fall camp scrimmage. “I thought Christian and Jerrick got their introduction to college football a little bit,” Sarkisian said.

“Both guys put the ball on the ground once, and that’s part of it. Jaydon [Blue] and Cedric [CJ Baxter] had to remind them of their own first scrimmages and what that’s like. But they also did some really good things and are further along than some might think.”

In the wake of Baxter’s injury, Texas now has four scholarship running backs: junior Jaydon Blue, sophomore Tre Wisner, Gibson, and Clark. The coaching staff has started exploring alternatives, including moving players from other positions to running back.

In the first fall camp scrimmage, redshirt freshman linebacker Derion Gullette (6-3, 235) and redshirt freshman receiver Ryan Niblett (5-10, 185) took reps at running back as potential candidates for the position.

This fall, Texas will rely heavily on Blue (6-0, 200), who showed promise last year with a standout performance that included a 69-yard touchdown run and 121 rushing yards in a win over Texas Tech.

Blue averaged 6.1 yards per carry in 2023 and had 14 catches for 135 yards and one touchdown. Running backs coach Tashard Choice has likened Blue to Jahmyr Gibbs, whom Choice recruited to Georgia Tech before Gibbs transferred to Alabama and was selected in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. Wisner, known for his special teams play, is expected to see an increased role this fall as well.