Longhorns Country

Texas RB CJ Baxter Undergoes Successful Knee Surgery

Texas Longhorns running back CJ Baxter underwent successful knee surgery on Tuesday.

Matt Galatzan

Texas Longhorns running back CJ Baxter during the first day with pads in fall football camp practice for the Texas Longhorns at Denius Fields on Monday, August 5, 2024.
Texas Longhorns running back CJ Baxter during the first day with pads in fall football camp practice for the Texas Longhorns at Denius Fields on Monday, August 5, 2024. / Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The Texas Longhorns lost starting running back CJ Baxter to a season-ending knee injury during fall camp, leaving a gaping hole in the running back room heading into the opener vs. Colorado State.

Now, according to reports from Anwar Richardson of OrangeBloods.com, Baxter underwent successful surgery to repair his LCL and ACL on Tuesday. Baxter was also originally thought to have torn his PCL, but per the report, that ligament remained intact and did not require surgery.

The Surgery was performed by Dr. Daniel Cooper in Dallas.

Longhorn
Texas Longhorns Arch Manning hands the ball of to CJ Baxter during the first fall football camp practice for the Texas Longhorns at Denius Fields on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. / Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Baxter was just named to the Preseason Doak Walker Award Watch List but will now instead be watching Texas' first season in the SEC from the sidelines.

Last season, Baxter finished with 138 carries for 659 yards and five touchdowns to go along with 24 receptions for 156 yards. Set to enter his sophomore season, he was expected to be the starter alongside Jaydon Blue in a 1A/1B type of backfield.

Both backs took over the reins last year when Brooks went down and performed well as Texas made its way to the College Football Playoff. The pair each scored a touchdown in the Longhorns' CFP Semifinal loss to Washington in the Sugar Bowl.

Now, Blue will slide in as the no-doubt starter. He leads a talented running back room that also features Tre Wisner along with freshmen Jerrick Gibson and Christian Clark. Last season, Blue tallied 65 carries for 398 yards and three touchdowns while adding 14 catches for 135 yards and another score.

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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