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Ryan Watts leaves game vs. Texas Tech with injury on first drive

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz11/25/23NickSchultz_7
Ryan Watts
Ryan Watts (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

On the first drive of Friday’s game against Texas Tech, Texas defensive back Ryan Watts headed to the turf with an apparent injury. He got caught under the pile on a tackle.

Watts was one of a handful of Longhorns attempting to tackle Tahj Brooks and eventually got him out of bounds. However, he ended up at the bottom of the pile and was slow to get up. The training staff eventually went out to treat him on the sidelines and he laid down on the turf, and he walked off the field under his own power.

Through nine games this year, Ryan Watts has 31 tackles to his name, including a tackle for loss. He also has three passes defended as part of a solid follow-up to his breakout 2022 campaign. After transferring from Ohio State, Watts had 51 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss and a sack in 13 games for Texas last year.

Texas’ defense has been a big reason for the Longhorns’ success this year. They entered Friday’s game as the No. 2-ranked unit in the Big 12, holding opponents to 336.6 total yards per game and a league-best 18.2 points per contest.

Steve Sarkisian: Texas has to stay poised, keep composure in final Big 12 regular season game

Texas has a chance to lock up a spot in the Big 12 Championship Friday night in the Longhorns’ final season before departing for the SEC. To do so, they have to get past Texas Tech, which pulled off a 37-34 victory a year ago. Things looked good through the first half, though, as Texas held a 20-7 lead in the early going.

However, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian knows the key to fighting off the Red Raiders and sealing a trip to Arlington. It’s all about staying focused on the task at hand.

“There’s so much that’s coming into the game with Senior Night, trying to play to get in the Big 12 Championship. We just talked about poise and composure,” Sarkisian told ABC’s Tom Luginbill ahead of kickoff. “It’s something we’ve done really well on the road. We want to make sure we bring it back home.”

Texas is also squarely in the mix for the College Football Playoff, coming in at No. 7 in the latest rankings. The Longhorns are the second-highest ranked one-loss team behind Oregon, which is also trying to make its conference championship.