Texas Longhorns Steve Sarkisian Provides Injury Update on TE Ja'Tavion Sanders

Texas Longhorns star tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders suffered an injury in last week's win over the Kansas Jayhawks.

AUSTIN, Texas -- The No. 3 Texas Longhorns are set to get their star tight end back for Saturday's rivalry showdown with the No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl. 

Per Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, Ja'Tavion Sanders will play vs. Oklahoma.

“JT looks great. He’ll be good to go Saturday,” Sarkisian said.

Sanders injured his ankle in the 40-14 win over the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday after having his lower body landed on in a pile. He was in visible pain while limping off the field and eventually went back to the locker room after remaining on the sideline with his helmet on for a while.

Texas tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders (0) carries the ball as Baylor safety Devin Lemear (20) chases during the third quarter of the Longhorns' game against the Baylor Bears / © Sara Diggins, Austin American-Statesman

This season, Sanders has posted 13 catches for 278 yards and one touchdown.

Entering the Kansas game, Sanders was tied with Colorado State's Dallin Holker for first among tight ends in the country with 268 receiving yards, which also led the Longhorns at the time. Holker has proven to be a weapon with four touchdowns compared to just one for Sanders, but the Texas pass-catcher did so on just 12 catches compared to Holker's 22 grabs. 

After catching a 44-yard touchdown in the season opener against Rice, Sanders followed this up with five catches for a career-high 114 yards in the win over Alabama. In the win over Baylor, it was more of the same with five grabs for 110 yards, as he showed off his elite yards-after-catch ability.

The Longhorns and Sooners kickoff from the Cotton Bowl on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.