Over the last few weeks, the Texas Longhorns have seen some of their key players go down in games and subsequently pop up on the team's availability reports.
That has included stars like edge rusher Colin Simmons, wide receivers Cam Coleman and Ryan Wingo, and defensive back Graceson Littleton.
Well, as the Horns' Week 11 matchup against the LSU Tigers has come into focus, Texas was luckily able to remove quite a few of those crucial players from its injury list.
In fact, when Steve Sarkisian and the Horns released their initial availability report on Wednesday evening, it included some of the best news possible ahead of the top-25 SEC game.
Texas Longhorns' Week 11 initial availability report vs. LSU Tigers
While defensive tackle Hero Kanu was listed as questionable after suffering a shoulder injury in Texas's Week 10 win over the Missouri Tigers, many of the Horns' previously questionable players were already off the first availability report of the week:
- OUT: Hollywood Smothers (RB), Trevor Goosby (OL), Nick Townsend (TE), Richard Wesley (EDGE)
- QUESTIONABLE: Hero Kanu (DL)
Simmons, Coleman, Wingo, Littleton, Kade Phillips, and other stars (on both sides of the ball) were finally off the injury list from the jump, a great sign of the Horns' ability to rehabilitate their players to full health.
Of course, the recurring presence of running back Hollywood Smothers and offensive tackle Trevor Goosby should come as no surprise, with both suffering season-ending knee injuries in the last month.
LSU Tigers' Week 11 initial availability report vs. Texas Longhorns
Meanwhile, the Tigers' first availability report for Week 11 also didn't include quite as many stars for LSU, other than the fact that star linebacker Whit Weeks was listed as "questionable" and not definitively out:
- OUT: Dashawn Spears (S), Phillip Wright III (WR), Charles Ross II (LB), Richard Anderson (DT)
- QUESTIONABLE: Whit Weeks (LB)
- PROBABLE: Gabriel Reliford (DE), Weston Davis (OT)
The return of Weeks could spell trouble for Texas's already-shaky offensive line, and the absence of defensive tackle Richard Anderson and linebacker Charles Ross II doesn't exactly provide much reprieve, with neither seeing significant playing time throughout the season so far.
The continued absence of safety Dashawn Spears has been a burden for the LSU secondary over the last 10 weeks. Similarly, wideout Phillip Wright III hasn't seen the field since the Tigers' second game of the season.
In other words, both teams would be pretty close to full strength, or at least as close as possible with a couple of players out for the season. So, no matter which team wins, the other wouldn't be able to point to injuries as the reason for its loss.
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