Texas lost another run to a season-ending injury

No. 4 Texas running back suffered his second season-ending injury Monday when true freshman Christian Clark tore an Achilles tendon in practice, the school announced Tuesday.

Texas said Clark would have surgery and miss the rest of the year, six days after announcing last year’s opening-game starter C.J. Baxter would undergo season-ending knee surgery.

The loss leaves the Longhorns with three scholarship running backs.

Jaydon Blue, who appeared in 23 games at Texas, rushing for 431 yards with three touchdowns, is expected to carry the load this season. He had four catches for 45 yards in the Longhorns’ College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Washington, where he also returned three kickoffs for 80 yards.

Behind Blue, the Longhorns have sophomore Quintrevion Wiesner, who played in 14 games last season on special teams, and freshman Jerick Gibson, ranked as the No. 2 running back and No. 59 prospect in the 2024 ESPN 300.

Clark, a four-star recruit from Mountain Point High School in Phoenix, signed with Texas in December.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian told reporters Monday that both Clark and Gibson are moving forward despite what he described as a “welcome college football moment” in Saturday’s scrimmage and “further down the road than some might think.”

“It’s definitely tough to see,” Texas quarterback Quinn Ears said of the injury in a post-practice video session with reporters Tuesday night. “Injuries happen. It’s just part of the game we play. I think (running backs coach Tashard) Choice and coach Sark do a good job of recruiting good running backs that can eventually fill positions of need. … I think we have There are guys that are going to be more than capable of stepping up and filling those roles.”

Ewers rushed for five touchdowns last season and gained confidence in his running ability with 29- and 30-yard touchdown runs against Baylor and Kansas, Sarkisian said after the Kansas game that Ewers discovered, “Man, maybe I’m a little faster. .”

Ewers said Tuesday that if it falls to him to run more, he’s happy to do it.

“Ultimately, I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help this team win football games,” Years said. “So if that means I have to run more, so be it.”