Texas football’s latest injury report, dropped Wednesday through Friday evenings by the Southeastern Conference, looks pretty alarming this week.
The Longhorns have the most players listed on the report than they’ve had all season, and most of those names belong to key starters that make an immediate impact on the field.
Texas’ news went from bad to worse on Thursday afternoon with the announcement that senior running back Hollywood Smothers would be out for the rest of the season with a torn MCL. Smothers — along with senior starting left tackle Trevor Goosby, freshman edge Richard Wesley and sophomore tight end Nick Townsend — have already been ruled out of Texas’ test against Missouri this Saturday.
In addition to those losses, Texas is looking at some questionable availabilities with five more starters: junior edge rusher Colin Simmons, sophomore defensive backs Kade Phillips and Graceson Littleton and junior wide receivers Ryan Wingo and Cam Coleman.
According to Horns247’s Eric Henry, sources have said that Wingo and Phillips are trending toward playing this Saturday, while Coleman and Simmons will likely be game-time decisions.
And so, with four games left in a season that has suddenly turned desperate, the Longhorns are officially beat up.
“More guys are going to have to step up this week,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said on Monday. “I don’t know what it’ll look like Saturday. I don’t know exactly who will be out there playing for us. We obviously won’t be at full strength, but I have the utmost confidence (that) whoever’s out there will be ready to go.”
It’s a given that players are going to get banged up, especially considering the competitiveness of the SEC, which has completely cannibalized itself this season. Sarkisian noted that Texas went into this season knowing that the team would be down, especially within its running back room, at some point this season.
That’s why the Longhorns stocked up on so much depth.
We’ve already seen that, with several younger players taking on significant roles this season. In the running back room, it falls on the shoulders of freshman Derrek Cooper and sophomore Michael Terry III, who each recorded their first career touchdowns this season in the wake of Smothers’ ongoing injuries.
If Coleman and Wingo aren’t ready to go this week, Texas will see more reps given to freshman Jermaine Bishop Jr. and junior Emmett Mosley V. Sarkisian also noted that players who have shown strength on special teams, like freshmen wide receivers Kohen Brown and Chris Stewart, could have their names called upon soon. Sophomore wide receiver Kaliq Lockett is on track to get healthy enough for some more action, Sarkisian also mentioned.
“I think them gaining confidence on special teams is a way which we’ve seen with players in our past,” Sarkisian said. “They gain confidence on special teams, and then that kind of translates to offense and defensive football.”
Despite the number of promising young faces that may see more action in the wake of devastating losses, the Longhorns are still in a do-or-die situation. Their win-loss record already set that in stone before the injuries began popping up. Losing so many starters thrusts Texas further into survival mode.
That desperation could lead to the unraveling of the rest of Texas’ season, or it could lead to greatness.
Right now, it’s all about how the Longhorns respond to the challenges facing them and the pressure mounting higher and higher as the season hits its final stretch.
“We take a lot of pride in the grit and toughness of this organization, and that’s what November is about,” Sarkisian said. “Nobody’s at 100%. Nobody’s at full strength. But you got to find a way to win games in a gritty fashion. And I think that’s what we’ve done historically. And that’s what this month is going to require. And it starts this weekend in Columbia.”
