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3 key injured players for Texas heading into the bye week

Which key Texas players could rest up and return from injuries after the bye week for the mid-October Red River Rivalry vs. OU next weekend?

By Andrew Miller

Quinn Ewers, Texas football
Quinn Ewers, Texas football / Aaron E. Martinez/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
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Texas football and the Oklahoma Sooners both get the bye week this week to rest up and recover before the Red River Rivalry game in Dallas on Oct. 12. This is a good opportunity for Texas to get healthy at some key position groups that have been banged up on each side of the ball after the season's first month, and entering a key stretch of games in mid-to-late October.

Bye week allowing Texas football to recover physically before Red River next week

Head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns also get the bye week to make some necessary adjustments and fix issues on both sides of the ball after the SEC opener last weekend. Texas was sluggish coming out of the gates in the first half of the SEC opener at home last weekend against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Between being able to clean up some problems that popped up early in the game against Mississippi State on Sep. 28, and getting key players healthier, the bye week came at a great time for the Longhorns. It's even bigger that the bye week gives Sarkisian and the Longhorns the extra week to prepare for Red River against OU.

Here's a look at three key injury updates for the Longhorns during the bye week, and before Red River next weekend against Oklahoma.

Derek Williams Jr., S

Sophomore safety Derek Williams Jr. missed the last two games for the Longhorns due to a reported (per 247Sports) hamstring injury. Texas's safety room has been pretty banged up early in the 2024 campaign, with key guys like Williams, sophomore Jelani McDonald, and freshman Xavier Filsaime missing multiple games each due to injury issues early this season.

Williams started one game and appeared in three at safety for the Longhorns this season. His one start came against the No. 10 Michigan Wolverines in the big double-digit win on the road in Week 2 in Ann Arbor, where he took a season-high 40 defensive snaps and registered his first career interception.

There hasn't been a definitive status update regarding Williams' possible return to the lineup for the defensive secondary coming out of the bye week, entering mid-October. If Williams does return to the lineup for Red River against OU on Oct. 12 in Dallas, it would be his first live-game action for the Longhorns' secondary since the Week 3 win over the UTSA Roadrunners.

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