Texas Longhorns RB Velton Gardner Out for Rest of Season

Texas Longhorns running back Velton Gardner transferred to the program right before the season began.

Zach Dimmitt | 15 Hours Ago

Sep 14, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns running back Velton Gardner (24) runs for yards during the second half against the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

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Texas Longhorns

AUSTIN -- The injuries in the Texas Longhorns running back room aren't slowing down as the team heads deeper into SEC play.

During Wednesday's SEC Weekly Teleconference, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian confirmed that running back Velton Gardner is out for the season due to an eye injury.

"Yeah, he's out for the season. He had an eye injury," Sarkisian said.

It's unclear when Gardner suffered the injury. He's been listed as out on each SEC student-athlete availability report during conference play.

A graduate transfer from SMU, the Longhorns added Gardner a little over a week before the season opener against Colorado State after the season-ending injuries to CJ Baxter and Christian Clark in training camp. It's possible that Gardner could use a medical redshirt to extend his college career but that is unclear at this point. He finishes the season with eight carries for 26 yards. In the win over UTSA on Sept. 15, he posted five carries for 15 yards, which was highlighted by a 10-yard run.

Gardner played the first three years of his college career with the Kansas Jayhawks before joining SMU before the 2022 campaign. He spent two seasons with the Mustangs.

In five total collegiate seasons, Gardner has tallied 229 carries for 1,024 yards and six touchdowns while adding 22 catches for 73 receiving yards. During the 2020 season with Kansas, he posted a career-best 72 carries before finishing with a career-high 368 rushing yards two years later with the Mustangs. At SMU in 2022, Gardner had a career-high 100 yards rushing on 11 carries in a 45-16 win over Lamar.

No. 5 Texas kicks off against Florida on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.