Just weeks away from the 2024 football season, running back Cedric "CJ" Baxter suffered a torn ACL and was sidelined for the entirety of the Longhorns run to the College Football Playoff semifinals. Now, after losing Jaydon Blue to the NFL Draft, Texas is looking for its next man up for the RB1 role.
Baxter, who was projected to be a powerhouse unit in Texas' backfield last season, is reportedly trending in the right direction ahead of the Longhorns kicking off their spring practices.
Over SXSW in Austin, head coach Steve Sarkisian gave a brief update on his running back, saying that it looked like Baxter could be ready as soon as the Horns' season opener against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
“Cedric’s doing great,” Sarkisian said. “So you know, Cedric Baxter is a running back of ours that tore his ACL early in training camp last year. He was set to, I think, have a great season. His rehab is going fantastic. He looks really good. He’s in really good spirits.”
Alongside tearing his ACL, Baxter also suffered a torn LCL and underwent subsequent surgery to repair the damage to his knee. Prior to the surgery, Baxter was projected to be RB1 for the Longhorns, even with Blue still on the roster.
“I’m pretty much doing everything, just slowly but surely,” Baxter said during his rehabilitation process. “I just tell myself every day to do everything one day at a time. I’m not looking too far ahead.”
“Obviously, we have some time, right?” Sarkisian said. “But time will tell, right? We’re in March, and we’ve got plenty of time until August 30th when we play. We’ve got plenty of time until then.”
Texas and Ohio State are scheduled to start their 2025 campaigns with a rematch from the College Football Playoffs, when the Buckeyes defeated the Horns in the semifinal round. The time of the game has yet to be announced.