Texas Rules Out Two Players, Adds Two Names to Latest Injury Report

The Texas Longhorns have released their second student-athlete availability report ahead of the SEC opener against Mississippi State.

Texas Longhorns running back Colin Page (27) is tackled by Louisiana Monroe Warhawks linebacker Brett Drillette (54) in the second half of the Longhorns' game against the ULM Warhawks at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Sept. 21, 2024. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

AUSTIN -- The Texas Longhorns have released their Thursday edition of the student-athlete availability report ahead of Saturday's SEC opener against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

The latest report includes two new names and has updated statuses for four players. Running back Colin Page and safety Derek Williams Jr. have both been ruled out after previously being listed as doubtful. Running back Quintrevion Wisner and defensive back Jelani McDonald have been upgraded from questionable to probable. Deep snapper Tate Haver (doubtful) and edge rusher Barryn Sorrell (probable) were added to the report.

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers remains questionable with an abdominal injury.

Here's the full availability report:

CJ Baxter, Running Back - OUT 

Christian Clark, Running Back - OUT

Velton Gardner, Running Back - OUT

Derek Williams Jr., Defensive Back - OUT

Colin Page, Running Back - OUT

Tate Haver, Deep Snapper - Doubtful

DeAndre Moore Jr., Wide Receiver - Questionable

Quinn Ewers, Quarterback - Questionable 

Jelani McDonald, Defensive Back - Probable

Quintrevion Wisner, Running Back - Probable

Barryn Sorrell, Edge Rusher - Probable

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said when meeting with the media via Zoom on Thursday that he would announce a starting quarterback on Friday. Arch Manning started in place of Ewers in the 51-3 over Louisiana-Monroe and finished 15 of 29 passing for 258 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

"He's improved every day," Sarkisian said. "It won't be a secret. We're not trying to pull the wool over anybody's eyes. We just want to give Quinn every opportunity to see if he's ready to play and what he looks like."

Sarkisian also admitted that the countless injuries in the running back room is unlike anything he's seen in

"I don't know if I've had the amount of injuries that we've had," Sarkisian said. "I've been fortunate in my career, I've had 1,000-yard rusher everywhere we've gone. And that's a byproduct of a lot of things, but also that one of those things is health, right? That runner had never had to endure any significant injuries that way. But every year, every team, injuries happen, and you don't know when, you don't know how, you don't know what. And so the point of that being is you got to keep trying to prepare the other guys to play."

The injuries hit the running back room in a big way even before the 2024 campaign began, as Cedric Baxter and Christian Clark suffered season-ending injuries in training camp.

"This stuff really isn't that new," Sarkisian said. "Naturally, with Christian and CJ, they got hurt in camp, and so we've been kind of planning, and to think that we were just going to go through a season and not have any bumps and bruises, that probably wouldn't be realistic. So we believe we've got a good plan. We believe that the guys that go in can execute and play at a high level, and so we're just going to continue to try to develop those guys, and I feel like we're going to be okay."

No. 1 Texas kicks off against Mississippi State on Saturday at 3:15 p.m. CT.