Skip to main content
Texas

Steve Sarkisian provides bye-week update on multiple injured Longhorns

by: Evan Vieth7 hours ago
ut_vs_vanderbilt-0492_mc_donald
Jelani McDonald (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

By the end of Saturday’s win against Vanderbilt, the Texas Longhorns were down over five key players between offense and defense.

[Sign up for Inside Texas TODAY for $1 and get the BEST Longhorns coverage!]

Heading into the game, QB Arch Manning’s availability was a question mark given his concussion from the week prior. He was clearly fine, throwing for over 300 yards and multiple touchdowns, but many players elsewhere on the roster suffered injuries throughout the season.

First, it was star receiver Ryan Wingo, who dislocated his thumb in the first half of the game.

“I’m going to limit him, probably. I don’t know how much he’s really going to practice this week,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “Quite frankly, I just want him to get as healthy as we can get him. We don’t think he’s going to miss time, but I don’t think he’ll be 100% either.”

It seems like Wingo will have a full week of rest after two straight games with large yardage gains and touchdowns. As reported by Inside Texas shortly after the game, confidence is high in Wingo being good to go for the night game at Georgia.

Alongside Wingo in that receiver room was Daylan McCutcheon, who exited the game for some time after taking a shot near the goal line. He returned to the game, and with Sarkisian not mentioning him, it’s assumed he’ll be available.

Texas also suffered some notable injuries on defense, starting before the first pass was even thrown. Star safety Michael Taaffe was ruled out before kickoff, having recently received thumb surgery following the win at Kentucky. While he wasn’t mentioned today, IT’s reporting believes he will be available for the game against Georgia in two weeks.

Across from Taaffe is another star in the secondary, Jelani McDonald, who never returned to the game after suffering a concussion.

“Jelani is in protocol. Just like last week, it’s really out of my hands,” Sarkisian said.

Just like with Manning, it’s out of Sarkisian’s control how fast McDonald can return to the field. Sarkisian would go on to say that with the current pace McDonald is in recovery from Saturday to today, he should be good to go against the Bulldogs. As our own Eric Nahlin reported on Saturday, both Wingo and McDonald are expected to play.

It clearly seems like the bye is coming at a great time for Texas, as players like Malik Muhammad and Jaylon Guilbeau missed snaps in the game but seem likely to return in two weeks’ time.

Texas enters the bye a battered unit, especially out wide and in the secondary, but from the way Sarkisian speaks about his roster, there’s a high chance Texas will be fully available in two weeks’ time against Georgia.

You may also like