In an unfortunate turn of events, it is confirmed that the Texas Longhorns will be without Sophomore RB CJ Baxter for the upcoming College Football season.
Baxter, who was expected to be the Longhorn’s main back this year and fill the shoes left by star RB Jonathon Brooks, suffered a season-ending injury to his right knee during a team practice on 8/6.
Although he did not injure his ACL, Baxter’s injury includes his LCL and PCL ligaments and will require surgery. With a recovery time of 6-9 months, the earliest Baxter could return to play would be February, well past the conclusion of the College Football Playoff.
Baxter, who enters the season as the Longhorns most experienced RB, ran for 659 yards and 5 TDs in 2023.
The Longhorns will now turn to Junior Jaydon Blue and Sophomore Quintrevion Wisner to handle the workload. The good news? Blue and Wisner have both grown up in the Texas system and have spent their whole college career, so far, with Texas.
Therefore, both backs should be familiar with Sark’s system and what he expects from RBs.
Blue has the capabilities to be an RB1. His skillset was on display last year vs Texas Tech, when he ran for 121 yards and 1 TD.
Despite the injury to Baxter, Texas still boasts one of the best QBs and receiving cores in the country. They should still be a top 5 team throughout the season, barring any other major injuries. Check out the post below for more on Texas’s outlook this season: