It was heartbreaking to see freshman running back Derrek Cooper leave his first-ever game with the Texas Longhorns before halftime began.
The former five-star prospect was expected to make an early but significant impact this season, even as a true freshman and even with elite running backs Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown being at the top of the depth chart.
Unfortunately, Cooper suffered an ankle injury in the first half of Texas's season opener against the Texas State Bobcats and had to head to the locker room before the first 30 minutes of his collegiate career came to an end.
On Monday, head coach Steve Sarkisian shared that Cooper would be in a walking boot for "the foreseeable future," undoubtedly ruling the freshman running back out for the Horns' upcoming matchup against the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes.
Of course, this much probably could have been expected, with Cooper emerging from the locker room for the second half already in a walking boot on Saturday.
And, while this is an undeniable hit to the Longhorns' depth chart, it is far from the end of the road for Texas being able to run the ball or Cooper's career.
Texas's running back depth is unbelievably deep, even with Derrek Cooper out
Smothers and Brown are just the first line of offense in Texas's running back room, and even with Cooper sidelined for the "foreseeable future," the Longhorns will be just fine when it comes to their ground game.
Even in the first game of the season, six different running backs carried the ball out of the backfield, including Cooper, Smothers, and Brown.
Redshirt freshman James Simon found the end zone on the ground and earned 19 rushing yards against Texas State. Ryan Niblett earned 10 yards on two carries, and Michael Terry III earned eight yards on three running attempts.
Smothers and Brown were the highlight of the day, of course, combining for 145 all-purpose yards and three total touchdowns. Even before his unfortunately early exit, Cooper earned six yards on the first two carries of his collegiate career.
Yes, it is obviously unfortunate that Cooper is out for the time being, but he is still extremely young in terms of a collegiate football career, and of all the positions on Texas's roster to take a hit at depth, the running back room may have been the most ideal.
This week, without Cooper in the lineup, the No. 5 Longhorns and the No. 1 Buckeyes are scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 12, and the game will be broadcast on ABC.
The matchup will not only be a test of two of the top teams in the country, but a position-by-position test of some of the best talent in the world.
Add us as a preferred source on Google