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3 key injured Texas players heading into Arkansas

Texas has an opportunity to show depth on the defensive side of the ball with the handful of injuries it has experienced with that unit for Week 12 vs. Arkansas.

By Andrew Miller

Morice Blackwell Jr., Texas football
Morice Blackwell Jr., Texas football / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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No. 3 Texas football (8-1, 4-1 SEC) has a challenging rivalry game upcoming in the SEC on the road in Week 12 against the Arkansas Razorbacks (5-4, 3-3 SEC) at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

A couple of defensive contributors for Texas football could be out vs. Arkansas due to injuries in Week 12

Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian have only three games remaining this regular season, against Arkansas this weekend and then at home against the Kentucky Wildcats on Nov. 23 and on the road against the rival Texas A&M Aggies on Nov. 30.

The SEC-mandated injury report was released on Wednesday and Thursday for the Texas-Arkansas game on Nov. 16. Both teams have some key players who surfaced on the first SEC injury report this week, including a handful of skill position starters for the Razorbacks.

Texas's injuries have mostly hampered the defensive side of the ball in recent weeks. The Longhorns got senior safety Andrew Mukuba and junior wide receiver Isaiah Bond back from injury issues in last weekend's convincing 49-17 win over the Florida Gators.

Here are three key injury updates for the Longhorns in Week 12 on the road vs. Arkansas.

Derek Williams Jr., S

The safety position has been pretty banged up for the Longhorns this fall. Texas not only had Mukuba out for a game and a half due to a lower-body injury amid SEC play in the past month, but it also is down sophomore safety Derek Williams Jr. for the rest of the season.

Williams suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Rivalry game in Week 7. He registered 11 combined tackles, one defensive stop, one interception, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery, over four games played this season.

With Williams out for the rest of the season and Mukuba returning from injury in this past week's game against Florida, Texas has turned almost exclusively to a three-man safety rotation outside of garbage time. Redshirt junior Michael Taaffe, Mukuba, and sophomore Jelani McDonald have helped hold down the fort for the No. 1 ranked pass defense in the SEC this fall.

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