Texas Officially Rules Out Two Players vs. ULM

The Texas Longhorns have continued to deal with injury issues early this season.

Sep 7, 2024; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive back Derek Williams Jr. (2) celebrates with teammates after making an interception in the second half am at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

AUSTIN -- The Texas Longhorns have officially announced that two players will be out for Saturday's game against Louisiana-Monroe.

Quinn Ewers (abdomen) has officially been ruled out which, of course, had already been known since Thursday when Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian announced that Arch Manning would be getting his first-career start. Defensive back Derek Williams Jr. (hamstring) has also been ruled out. The

This announcement from the team likely means that running backs Jaydon Blue and Quintrevion Wisner along with defensive back Jelani McDonald will suit up against ULM. Blue and McDonald missed last week's game against UTSA while Wisner got injured in the first half and never returned.

Sarkisian said Thursday that all three would be game-time decisions with "varying degrees."

"They're all limited to some degree," Sarkisian said. "I think all those guys would kind of be game-time decisions at varying degrees. I feel better about maybe a couple of them than another one. But again, we've got two full days, and really two-and-a-half days until kickoff, so (we'll) see how healthy we can get those guys and then potentially what we can get out of them."

Blue had originally injured his ankle in the first half of the 31-12 win over Michigan but returned before halftime after getting looked at by the medical staff. He finished with nine rushes for 22 yards along with six catches for 37 yards and a touchdown.

With Ewers watching from the sidelines, true freshman quarterback Trey Owens will be the backup behind Manning against the Warhawks.