The Texas Longhorns enter 2024 with legitimate hopes of a national championship after a run to the College Football Playoff last season. Steve Sarkisian’s squad will now have to weather the loss of a key expected piece on the team’s offense.
Texas announced Wednesday sophomore running back CJ Baxter will undergo season-ending surgery after sustaining a knee injury during Tuesday’s practice. Orangebloods.com’s Anwar Richardson reported Baxter tore his lateral collateral ligament (LCL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), and he will be off the field for at least six-to-nine months.
Baxter, 19, shined as a freshman for the Longhorns in 2023, trailing only 2024 second-round NFL draft pick Jonathon Brooks in rushing yards. Baxter recorded 659 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, and he added 24 receptions. And while Baxter’s loss is a major blow for Sarkisian and quarterback Quinn Ewers, don’t expect Texas’ offense to grind to a halt in SEC competiton.
Ewers is a leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy. Alabama and Oregon State transfers Isaiah Bond and Silas Bolden could challenge for All-SEC spots at wide receiver, while the running-back room is now led by 2023 contributor Jaydon Blue. Will the Longhorns grind teams on the ground like they did last season? Not quite. But expect an aeriel attack unseen since the Colt McCoy era.
Texas has less than a month ahead before it kicks off a highly anticipated 2024 season. The Longhorns host Colorado State on Aug. 31, then travel to Ann Arbor for a date with the defending-champion Michigan Wolverines on Sept. 7. Texas will kick off SEC play Sept. 28 vs. Mississippi State, two weeks before the annual Red River Rivalry battle with Oklahoma.
