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Steve Sarkisian speaks on the departures of Jerrick Gibson, Will Stone

by: Evan Vieth10/15/25
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Jerrick Gibson (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Yesterday, Inside Texas broke the news of Jerrick Gibson and Will Stone‘s plans for the future. The two players will leave the team, take a redshirt year, and look elsewhere in the college football world.

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We had yet to hear from Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian regarding the two, but today’s SEC Coaches Teleconference gave reporters a chance to ask about the players.

When asked directly, Sarkisian simply said: “They wanted to redshirt and transfer.”

That’s likely all we will hear about Gibson and Stone from here on out.

Sarkisian continued to talk about the situation through other important pieces of information. When asked about replacing the carries and potential reps Gibson would’ve gotten, Sarkisian said those responsibilities will be spread out.

“Who will take those carries is everybody, whether that’s Tre (Wisner), whether that’s Christian (Clark), whether that’s James (Simon), whether that’s Cedric (Baxter) when he gets back,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got ample bodies, we should be okay in that aspect of it”

Sarkisian also addressed the college football rule regarding redshirts and his hopes for change.

In the current rulebook, players are given five years to play four seasons. They can also play in up to four regular season games in a given season and not burn through a year of eligibility.

Stone and Gibson had both played four games for the Longhorns. Had Stone played in another contest, this year would have been his last in college football after playing in at least four games in each of the last three seasons. Had Gibson played one more game, he would have just two years of eligibility left.

“I think it’s a terrible position to put these players in to make these decisions right now. There’s money involved, there’s NIL, there’s different factors,” Sarkisian said.

Sarkisian advocated for the five years to play five seasons rule.

If that were the case, someone like Gibson wouldn’t have to make the choice of transferring in October. He could play out the rest of the season with the team, potentially gain more carries, and then re-evaluate his decision at the end of the year.

While Sarkisian isn’t a fan of the current environment players are expected to operate in, the decisions of Stone and Gibson were respected and carried out. Both will leave the team, and Texas will move forward with other RBs and place kicker Mason Shipley on kickoffs.

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