Sarkisian gives injury update for running back CJ Baxter, center Cole Hutson, others

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said CJ Baxter’s hamstring injury is bad enough that he won’t play in the Longhorns’ final nonconference game Saturday against Sam Houston State.

Sarkisian isn’t ready to rule Baxter out for the Southeastern Conference opener on Oct. 4 against Florida, especially with a bye week before it. But as he’s done during his tenure here, Sarkisian isn’t going to put a guy on the field that he’s not totally comfortable with.

“We don’t think it’s overly significant, but he’ll be out this week as a precaution to hopefully get him ready for SEC play,” Sarkisian said of Baxter.

With Quintrevion Wisner also out with a leg injury, the run game will rely on the younger group against the Bearkats. James Simon, a true freshman, led the team in rushing in a 27-10 win over UTEP last week. Christian Clark and Jerrick Gibson are bound to get their fair share of carries, and of course, Sarkisian will have some designed runs for quarterback Arch Manning.

Texas ran the ball 56 times for 226 yards against the Miners amid Manning’s passing struggles, and even though Manning had a pair of rushing touchdowns, the Longhorns’ running back corps has yet to score a touchdown in three games this season.

Another injury that could affect the run game Saturday is one to center Cole Hutson. He left the game against UTEP early, and Sarkisian said he’ll be questionable throughout the week. Connor Robertson stepped in and played center in Hutson’s absence, and he was the backup for Jake Majors last season. At the very least, Texas will still have an experienced player giving the ball to the quarterback.

Sarkisian said Connor Stroh, who has played at left guard this season, has been cross-training at center to add depth. Danny Cruz is also an option there, as well. It’s the most important position on the offensive line, Sarkisian said, so having capable guys who can step in and get the offense going with a solid snap is critical.

“We have to be mindful of that spot, so we’re constantly training people there,” Sarkisian said.

Defensive backs Kobe Black and Xavier Filsaime will also be questionable to play Saturday, Sarkisian said. Along with Wisner, wide receiver DeAndre Moore didn’t play last week.

Ironing out the growing pains

Particularly on offense, the Longhorns have experienced some growing pains with a talented but green roster. Sarkisian knew the unit would go through a phase like that at some point of the season, and in the case of Manning, he’s glad it’s happening now.

Manning had flashes of great play against UTEP, but overall, the performance was uninspiring. He completed 11 of 25 passes for 114 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and was booed by the 102,000-plus fans during the game. When SEC teams line up against the Longhorns, showings like that simply won’t get the job done.

“I think you learn a lot about yourself through adversity,” Sarkisian said. “Once he gets on the other side of this, I think it will all serve him well and us as a team. I love the challenge for him, and for us. He’s a strong-minded guy, he’s got a great work ethic, poise, composure and he’s an awesome teammate, so I love the end of the movie for him when he gets on the other side of this.”

Having some veteran guys out with injuries has “affected the flow” of the offense, Sarkisian said. He didn’t want to make excuses, but it’s definitely messed with the continuity of the unit, and getting the younger guys acclimated to big-time college football is taking a little longer than Sarkisian wants it to.

“I’m not naive to think that we wouldn’t have these growing pains,” Sarkisian said. “I just want to get tall as fast as we can, feel good and start playing. I’m comfortable in saying that we’re going to get there, but I want to get there sooner rather than later, just like everybody else.”

Why aren’t the Longhorns kicking field goals?

Sarkisian has always leaned toward being more aggressive on fourth down at Texas. It’s a trust thing, he said, and he believes his offense is good enough that they’ll make the line to gain more often than not. Through three games this season, Texas has a 41.6% success rate on fourth down, converting 5 of 12 attempts. Those seven failures have resulted in empty possessions and not giving kicker Mason Shipley a shot at putting three points on the board.

Shipley hit a 60-yard field goal for the Texas State Bobcats last season, so he certainly has the range to score from the fringe areas, but Sarkisian wants to be aggressive and he’s going to stick to it. Shipley nailed a 47-yard attempt against San Jose State and is 3-for-3 on field goals so far this season.

Sarkisian said he understands the analytics and percentages of when to go for it and when to kick, but he doesn’t refer to them while making the decisions in-game. He’ll look to see what the numbers said after the fact, but he relies on his intuition and gut, along with the path the game is taking.

“There’s gut instincts involved, there’s trust in your team involved and some style things and the way to game is going involved,” he said. “It just so happens that we’ve been put in those situations early in games. I do that because that’s who we are, and that’s the style we believe in.”

Texas went for it on fourth down 33 times last season, converting 18 for a 54.5% success rate.