Texas Football: CJ Baxter Jr. ‘should be back’ at practice after rib injury

Texas football and head coach Steve Sarkisian dealt with a couple of key injuries in their 37-10 win over the Rice Owls at home at DKR on Sep. 2 to open up the 2023 regular season. True freshman running back CJ Baxter Jr. experienced a rib injury when it looked like he fell hard on the football after a long run play in the first half.

After suffering that upper-body injury in the first half, Baxter was ruled out for the rest of the game.

The other injury the Longhorns dealt with in the win over Rice this weekend was a lower-body issue for sophomore offensive guard DJ Campbell. A Rice defender rolled up on Campbell’s ankle, forcing him to leave the game in the second half.

Redshirt freshman interior offensive lineman Neto Umeozulu took over at left guard when Campbell suffered the lower-body injury.

Texas football RB CJ Baxter Jr. reportedly expected back at practice after suffering rib injury vs. Rice

In his postgame press conference, Sark stated that he is “optimistic” that the injury to Baxter isn’t too serious. Sark also confirmed that Baxter suffered a rib injury that forced him to leave the game in the first half.

A Horns247 report on Sep. 3 (paid content) updated Baxter’s status after Sark’s press conference on the evening of Sep. 2. Baxter was reportedly taken to the hospital for tests that wound up coming back negative. He is reportedly expected to “be back in practice this week” ahead of the Week 2 showdown on the road against the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa on Sep. 9.

This is good news if Baxter does make it back to practice for the Longhorns ahead of the matchup against Alabama next weekend.

Baxter was Texas’ starting running back in the win over Rice on Sep. 2. He had five rushes for 38 yards, including the 32-yard run where he suffered the rib injury.

After Baxter left the game due to injury, redshirt sophomore running back Jonathon Brooks and sophomore Jaydon Blue split most of the backfield reps against Rice. Brooks had nearly 100 total yards and one touchdown catch against Rice. Blue led the team in rushing yards, with 55 on 10 carries.

In Week 2, the Longhorns will travel to Tuscaloosa to face the 1-0 (0-0 SEC) Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Sep. 9, with the kickoff time set for 6 p.m. CT.