3 key injured Texas players heading into Georgia

Derek Williams Jr., S

Per Sarkisian's press conference on Monday (Oct. 14), sophomore safety Derek Williams Jr. will be out for the rest of the season due to an injury he sustained in the Red River win over the Sooners on Saturday.

Sarkisian said Williams will have surgery in a couple of weeks. And he didn't specifically cite in his press conference the nature of Williams' injury.

But Williams was reported to have been dealing with a hamstring injury for the last few weeks before Red River last weekend. Williams played 22 defensive snaps and four snaps with the special teams coverage unit before leaving the game in Red River due to an injury on Saturday.

Williams left the game with an apparent injury in kick coverage after a kickoff in the second half against the Sooners.

in four games played this season, Williams registered 11 combined tackles, one defensive stop, one interception, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. Williams played 98 defensive snaps and two dozen special teams snaps this fall (per PFF).

If there is any good news to find in the unfortunate news of Williams' season-ending injury announcement today, it's that he's only played four games and can take a redshirt for this season to preserve the extra year of eligibility.

Texas will rely on starters Michael Taaffe and Andrew Mukuba, along with key underclassmen like sophomore Jelani McDonald and true freshman Jordon Johnson-Rubell to shoulder the load in the safety rotation for the rest of the season with a key impact player in Williams out.

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