Is CJ Baxter playing today? Latest update on Texas RB's status ahead of Michigan clash
The No. 3 Texas Longhorns are set to take on the No. 10 Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor this Saturday. The Week 2 matchup will be one of the most crucial games of the entire college football season with two top 10 teams clashing.
Texas will be without a key starter in running back CJ Baxter. Baxter will miss the entirety of the 2024-25 college football season after suffering a torn LCL and ACL during fall practice.
Reports in late August indicated Baxter underwent successful knee surgery to repair the two tendons. The talented back eyes a return for the 2025 college football season.
Baxter tallied 138 carries for 659 yards and five touchdowns in his true freshman season for the Longhorns last year.
The Longhorns will also be without freshman running back Christian Clark, who tore his Achilles just days after the injury to CJ Baxter. Clark is also expected to miss the entirety of the 2024 season.
The Texas Longhorns will now turn to a committee backfield of three players entering the crucial Week 2 matchup versus the reigning national champion Michigan Wolverines.
Here's a look at Texas' remaining options at running back with the losses of Baxer and Clark.
A look at Texas' running back group without CJ Baxter
With the losses of CJ Baxter and Christian Clark, the Longhorns offense will expect big contributions from Jaydon Blue, Jerrick Gibson and Tre Wisner. All three backs saw action in the season-opener versus Colorado State.
Blue, a junior and the oldest of the group, carried the ball 11 times for 57 yards and caught three passes for 37 yards. Blue saw a significant workload as a sophomore last season, recording 65 carries for 398 yards and three touchdowns.
Jerrick Gibson, a freshman from Gainesville, Florida, had 10 carries for 67 yards and a touchdown in his Longhorns debut. Tre Wisner, a sophomore from Glenn Heights, Texas, also saw action last weekend versus Colorado State, notching five carries for 22 yards and a touchdown.
The three backs are all expected to see paying time against Michigan this weekend and will have some help running behind one of the most experienced offensive line groups in the country, with three juniors and two seniors throwing blocks.