Texas Longhorns Football

An already-depleted Texas Longhorns backfield suffered yet another blow on Tuesday.

Per Chris Hummer of 247Sports, Longhorns true freshman running back Christian Clark suffered a torn Achilles this week and will miss the entirety of the 2024 season. He's the second Texas running back to suffer a season-ending injury this month, joining CJ Baxter, who suffered a knee injury last week.

Clark was a 4-star prospect out of Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix and the No. 23 running back in the class of 2024, per 247Sports' composite. He chose to attend Texas over offers from schools like Alabama, Arizona, Florida State and Oregon, among others.

247Sports recruiting analyst Blair Angulo described Clark as a "forceful runner who is tough to bring down" and added that he "projects as a multi-year starter at the elite Power Five level."

Clark likely would've seen an uptick in his workload after the injury to Baxter, who was Texas' leading returning rusher and the team's projected starter for the upcoming campaign. The sophomore suffered a torn LCL and PCL that requires surgery and will keep him sidelined for six to nine months.

Without Baxter and Clark, the Longhorns' running back room is down to junior Jaydon Blue, sophomore Tre Wisner and freshman Jerrick Gibson. According to 247Sports' Chip Brown, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff "were already tinkering with moving a player from another position to running back."

For now, Blue is likely to step into the role of lead back for the Longhorns. He rushed for 398 yards and three touchdowns on 65 carries last season, including a 69-yard touchdown run that showed he has the potential to be a future star. He also added 14 catches for 135 yards and a score.

Texas is hoping to have a big year in its first season in the SEC, so Blue and the remaining running backs will have to be at the top of their game if they hope to help the team achieve success in 2024.

Texas Longhorns running back CJ Baxter will reportedly miss the upcoming college football season after suffering a knee injury during Tuesday's practice.

According to Anwar Richardson of Orangebloods.com, Baxter tore his LCL/PCL and will require surgery that will keep him sidelined for six to nine months.

This is quite the blow for the Longhorns, as ESPN's Pete Thamel noted he was the team's leading returning rusher and projected starter for the 2024 campaign.

Baxter arrived at Texas as a 5-star prospect and the No. 1 overall running back in the 2023 recruiting class, per 247Sports' composite rankings. He was a solid playmaker in his freshman season and finished with 659 rushing yards, 156 receiving yards and five touchdowns.

He helped lead Texas to a Big 12 championship by scoring a touchdown in the win over Oklahoma State in the conference title game and then found the end zone again in the College Football Playoff during a loss to Washington.

It was reasonable to expect a jump from his first to second seasons in the collegiate game, especially after he picked up plenty of high-level experience as a freshman.

The Longhorns will likely rely on the combination of Jaydon Blue and Quintrevion Wisner in the backfield during Baxter's absence. While they both have some experience in the offense, it is still a difficult setback for a team that can use all the offensive firepower it can get as it moves to the SEC this season.

Texas faces Michigan, Oklahoma, Georgia and Texas A&M, among others, in a difficult schedule and will surely be eyeing another CFP appearance.

Unfortunately for the Burnt Orange, that path to the playoff and a potential SEC title became more difficult with Tuesday's setback.

Texas' 2025 offense is shaping up to be an explosive unit with the addition of wide receiver Kaliq Lockett.

A 5-star prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, Lockett announced he was committing to the Longhorns on Wednesday.

Lockett is the No. 5 wide receiver and 20th-ranked prospect overall in next year's class, per 247Sports' composite rankings. He picked Texas over other finalists Alabama, LSU, Florida State and Texas A&M.

Gabe Brooks, scouting analyst of 247Sports, praised Lockett's athleticism in his scouting report about the Sachse High School standout (h/t Jordan Scruggs of 247Sports):

"Tall, long-armed, physically gifted high-major receiver prospect with excellent on-field context accompanying limitless long-term potential. Possesses enormous hands and a 6-foot-7 wingspan. Dexterous and strong-handed. Displays advanced body control, vertical bounce, and timing. More than capable of going up and over multiple defenders to get contested throws. Freaky functional athlete who can elevate, land on his feet, and burst into full gait. Detonates out of cuts with explosive acceleration."

As a junior in 2023, Lockett caught 59 passes for 1,299 yards and 13 touchdowns in 11 games.

Lockett's commitment is the biggest win of the still-early 2025 recruiting season for Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian. He is the team's 17th commit overall and first 5-star prospect.

Texas has always been a recruiting hotbed, but the program will have to up its game now that it plays in the SEC. Lockett was considering three other programs in the conference, so the Longhorns coaching and recruiting staff did a good job to keep him close to home.

Expectations are extremely high for Texas going into 2024. The Longhorns were ranked No. 4 in the preseason coaches' poll released on Monday.

Even though Lockett won't join the program until next year, Texas is building a strong foundation to ensure the offense will be ready to fire on all cylinders as soon as he arrives on campus.

Isaiah Bond and Michael Taaffe will have two of the nicest cars on Texas' campus this year.

The wide receiver and defensive back were selected by Lamborghini Austin's Promotional to be the dealership's partners for the 2024 season, and with the partnership came a pair of new cars for the two standouts.

According to On3 Sports' Jeremy Crabtree, the two were selected for the NIL deal because of their "strong academic achievements, community leadership and success on the field." It's safe to say being gifted a new Lamborghini is quite the way to start the year.

After landing impressive NIL deals, Bond and Taaffe will look to prove they deserved the new cars with big seasons on the field.

Bond spent his first two collegiate seasons at Alabama before transferring to Texas ahead of the 2024 season. He was considered to be the top wide receiver prospect in the transfer portal by 247Sports this offseason after recording 668 receiving yards and four touchdowns last year.

Taaffe, who is entering his third season with the Longhorns this year, had 48 tackles, two passes deflected and three interceptions in 2023.

Texas is coming off an impressive 12-2 season that saw it win the Big 12 Championship but fall to Washington in the College Football Playoff semifinal. Now joining the SEC, the Longhorns will look to have another big year while facing opponents from one of the toughest conferences in college football.

One anonymous NFL executive believes that Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers could potentially become the first signal-caller selected in the 2025 draft ahead of Georgia's Carson Beck and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders.

"Ewers has the best chance to break away from the pack because of the offense he's in and how well he's played," an AFC college scouting director told ESPN's Matt Miller. "But he has to cut down on the bonehead plays he makes a few times a game."

The 21-year-old is coming off an impressive sophomore campaign with the Longhorns, completing 69.0 percent of his throws for 3,479 yards and 22 touchdowns compared to just six interceptions.

He helped lead Texas to a victory over Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game before eventually falling to Washington in the College Football Playoff.

ESPN's Jordan Reid revealed on July 9 that he was hearing a Day 2 or Day 3 grade from scouts on Ewers, although he could potentially move up draft boards by completing a "really good prove-it season" in 2024.

In Bleacher Report's latest 2025 mock draft, the Longhorns passer was not selected in the first round. Beck was taken with the No. 1 overall pick, while Sanders was the second quarterback selected at No. 4.

If Ewers can help the Longhorns navigate through a successful inaugural season in the SEC and improve upon his 2023 production, he could hear his name called early during the 2025 draft.

The Texas Longhorns have two viable quarterback options on their hands in starter Quinn Ewers and highly-touted prospect Arch Manning, though questions persist about whether there is a divide between the two as they compete for playing time.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian denied that during an interview with ESPN's Andrea Adelson, noting that the Longhorns would probably need both players at some point during the 2024 season:

These guys are great, great friends. Nobody gets along better. There's a real level of appreciation for what each guy is doing. Because they know the journey, they know the path, they know how we coach him. From Archer's perspective, he's watching Quinn have to go through some of the adversity, having a fight through injury, having to deal with the criticism of being the quarterback of Texas, so to see him have success, I think Arch is fired up for Quinn.

On the flip side, I think Quinn recognizes Arch's journey year one in our system and what that's like. If you go back to the spring game Arch's true freshman year, what that looked like, and then to see how he played Year 2 in the system, there's great appreciation from Quinn for what Arch is doing. So in the end, we're probably going to need both those guys at some point this season.

Ewers won the starting gig last season and it proved to be a wise decision, as he passed for 3,479 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions, completing 69 percent of his passes while leading Texas to a Big-12 title and a berth in the College Football Playoff.

So Manning is going to enter his second season in the backup, though he impressed during spring practices, reportedly throwing for 355 yards and three touchdowns in the spring game. That obviously excited fans.

"So was I," Sarkisian said about being excited by those performances himself.

Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, was the top overall recruit in the Class of 2023. Generally, top quarterback recruits don't spend two seasons as the backup, but Manning has chosen not to transfer.

Not that he and Ewers aren't competing.

"It's been a good past two years for us, just being able to have him in the quarterback room and us being able to push each other," Ewers told Adelson. "It says in the Bible, 'Iron sharpens iron.' So to have that competitive relationship is good."

Manning acknowledged in December that there were " a lot of tough days, I'm not going to lie" when speaking about being the backup.

But ultimately, he labeled it as an opportunity for growth.

"I was never a backup in high school. So there are some days when you graduate early, you're alone in your dorm room, you're like, just another day of fighting for the third-string job," he added. "Some days it's tough. There's hard workouts, hard practices, they expect a lot out of you. I'm glad I went through that to help me grow."

It will likely be a similar situation in 2024, barring an injury to Ewers or a sudden downturn in performance. For the Longhorns, having two quarterbacks of their caliber is a good problem to have.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian believes his team is more than built to handle life in the SEC.

During the conference's media day, Sarkisian cited the importance of having depth across multiple positions to compete in the SEC. He said Texas checks that box and boasts "the deepest team we've had, probably the most talented team we've had in my four years here."

The Longhorns lost some notable stars to the NFL. The interior defensive line tandem of Byron Murphy II and T'Vondre Sweat are gone, as are leading rusher Jonathon Brooks and Texas' top four players in receiving yards (Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, Ja'Tavion Sanders and Jordan Whittington).

For as much talent went out the door, starting quarterback Quinn Ewers is back after throwing for 3,479 yards and 22 touchdowns to six interceptions. Running back CJ Baxter had 659 rushing yards and five touchdowns as a true freshman. On defense, four of the top five tacklers return: Anthony Hill Jr., Jahdae Barron, David Gbenda and Michael Taaffe.

This is where the work of Sarkisian and his staff on the recruiting trail could pay off in a big way. Even with how much the sport has evolved, the old recruiting model remains the best route to assemble the backbone of your squad.

Over the last three seasons, Texas' classes were fifth, third and sixth in 247Sports' composite rankings.

Arch Manning is the crown jewel from that span and the highly touted signal-caller decided to remain in Austin despite Ewers sticking around. That's the kind of luxury schools don't get to enjoy as much anymore thanks to the transfer portal. Sarkisian credited the Manning family for keeping an eye on the bigger picture.

Speaking of the portal, receivers Isaiah Bond and Matthew Golden, edge-rusher Trey Moore, safety Andrew Mukuba and tight end Amari Niblack are among the headliners to transfer in for the 2024 season.

Sarkisian's confidence isn't misguided. The Longhorns are good enough to not only make the College Football Playoff but make a deep run and perhaps make the title game.

Of course, that means Sarkisian will be under a ton of pressure to deliver. Anything short of 10-plus wins and a quarterfinal berth will likely be considered a disappointment.

As Texas prepares for its first season in the SEC, the "Horns Down" taunt may not result in an automatic penalty like it did in the Big 12.

SEC coordinator of officials John McDaid addressed how the conference will handle the taunt during SEC media days on Tuesday:

"We're going to read the context in which it's done. I ask my officials to use the judgment of, is it taunting an opponent, is it making a travesty of the game, or is it otherwise affecting our ability to manage the game?

"If an opponent of Texas scores a touchdown and in celebration with their teammate going back up the sideline, gives the signal, that's not an issue. … If he tackles a player and stands over him and gives it, then we've got taunting, then we've got unsportsmanlike conduct."

The Big 12 introduced a taunting penalty specifically for the "Horns Down" gesture when an opposing player directed it toward a Texas player, coach or fan in 2019.

Big 12 officials coordinator Greg Burks continued to emphasize the rule over the years when he spoke publicly, though he indicated there could be some leeway depending on the situation.

"Lemme put it this way," Greg Burks said in 2021. "If you do a Horns Down to a Texas player as an opponent, that's probably going to be a foul."

The gesture would result in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

The SEC doesn't have a specific taunting penalty for mocking another team's gestures, but there are instances when players or teams have been flagged for such incidents. Players have been called for unsportsmanlike penalties for mocking Florida's gator chomp or Mississippi's land shark.

It won't be long before we get to find out how seriously the SEC will treat the "Horns Down" gesture. The Longhorns will open the 2024 season on Aug. 31 against Colorado State at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

Legendary former Alabama head coach Nick Saban doesn't foresee Texas at the top of the SEC in 2024 following the team's move from the Big 12.

"What kind of tickles me is all these people asking these questions about how Texas always ran the conference they were in," Saban said on SEC Now on Monday (h/t On3.com). "They're not gonna run the SEC."

The Longhorns defeated Oklahoma State in the 2023 Big 12 title game before falling to Washington in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.

Texas played against one SEC opponent in 2023, defeating Saban and the Crimson Tide on Sep. 9. Alabama held a 16-13 edge through three quarters before the Longhorns pulled away by scoring 21 points in the fourth and emerging with a 34-24 win.

Ahead of the 2024 season, Texas and Oklahoma both moved to the SEC from the Big 12. Saban won't be patrolling the sidelines during the next matchup between the Longhorns and the Crimson Tide, as he retired on Jan. 10 with seven national championships under his belt.

Still, the SEC should present a challenge for Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian after five teams in the conference recorded at least 10 wins last season.

While Saban doesn't believe that the Longhorns will end the season at the top of the SEC standings, Sarkisian's team should still be successful after coming off a 12-2 campaign. Starting quarterback Quinn Ewers is also returning after racking up 3,479 pass yards and 22 touchdowns compared to just six interceptions as a sophomore.

Texas already has a strong quarterback plan in place when Ewers eventually leaves with Arch Manning, the No. 1 recruit in the 2023 class, still on the roster (per 247Sports). The team will also be adding the sixth-best 2024 recruiting class in the nation, via 247Sports' Composite rankings.

Sarkisian, Ewers and the rest of the Longhorns will attempt to prove Saban wrong during this upcoming season.