Sarkisian Speaks on CJ Baxter Making His Return

 After weeks of rest and recovery for running back CJ Baxter, who suffered a hamstring injury in Texas’ third game of the season against UTEP, he’s finally set to make his return for the Longhorns against Mississippi State on Saturday.

Through the first two games of the season, Baxter managed to rush for 110 yards on 24 carries, while also making a slight impact through the air with seven receptions for 22 yards. He’s yet to secure his first touchdown of the season.

It was disappointing to lose Baxter, since he had a standout freshman year with the Longhorns in 2023, but missed his entire 2024 campaign after he tore his ACL and PCL in camp before the season started.

With Baxter now listed as probable on Texas’ player availability report, it’s looking like he’ll finally make his return. On Thursday, head coach Steve Sarkisian spoke on Baxter’s rehab and return.

“I thought he’s looked good in practice, and I thought he’s gotten better and stronger as the week’s gone on,” Sarkisian said in his Thursday press conference. “You know, the soft tissue injuries, to your point, are tricky, because the player coming off of them, they’re trying to figure out, can they really push you? And so, I credit our medical staff and the rehab process, because we pushed him really good over the last week and a half before this week, and to get him his confidence right to where he felt like he could go. And I felt like from Monday, Tuesday to Wednesday to today, his comfort level of pushing that to a degree to where he felt comfortable that he could really play at a high level, which was important. You know, we’re obviously fortunate to have Tre [Wisner] to combo with Cedric [Baxter]. And then, like I said, Christian Clark’s really been coming on.”

With running backs Tre Wisner, Christian Clark and others, Sarkisian and the Texas offense had options through Baxter’s absence. But with Baxter making his return, the Longhorns’ offensive variety will get even stronger.

Sarkisian also spoke on the impact that he sees Baxter having in his return on Saturday.

“Again, I don’t envision [CJ Baxter] walking out of there with 20-something carries,” Sarkisian said. “But if he can play in this game and be effective and be an integral part in some critical situations, on regular downs, but especially in some special situations, I think that would be really beneficial for our team. I think it’d be beneficial for Tre [Wisner] to take some of the load off of him and keep him fresh for four quarters. But also from a leadership standpoint, Cedric [Baxter] is a great leader, and the guys really respond to him. And so the fact that he gets to put his uniform on this Saturday and play with those guys, I think, is going to mean a lot to him, that he’s not going to be a street clothes on the sidelines.”

No matter how many carries Baxter gets, like Sarkisian said, it’s going to make a big impact for the Longhorns’ offense.

The Texas offense has struggled to play smooth, transitional games. Quarterback Arch Manning is struggling to throw the ball, and the Longhorns’ offense has been unable to get the ground game going with Wisner and Clark leading the running back room since the current second-leading rusher in the running back room, Jerrick Gibson, recently departed the program.

Whether Baxter gets five carries or 20, his presence will likely have some impact and hopefully uplift those around him on Saturday. But he’s also so talented that even with just five carries, he has the skill to potentially turn five carries into 100 yards.

We’ll see what happens when Baxter returns to the field on Saturday at 3:15 p.m. CT to face the Bulldogs.