While Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown were the stars of the show in Texas's backfield as the Longhorns took down the Texas State Bobcats, the biggest storyline from the running back room may actually be about Derrek Cooper.
Cooper is a true freshman running back who was a five-star prospect coming out of high school. He wasn't expected to be RB1 or even RB2 this season, but almost everyone was confident that he could contribute during his first year on the team.
In the first quarter, there were slight flashes of that budding brilliance as Cooper managed to earn six yards on two carries.
However, everyone's stomachs dropped as fans and experts alike noticed Cooper limping to the locker room well before the first half was over. Then, he was seen in a walking boot, stuck on the sidelines during what could have been a showcase of talent in his Texas debut.
Steve Sarkisian remains tight-lipped on Derrek Cooper injury status
After the game, Sarkisian didn't have much to add over what most people were already assuming: a foot or ankle injury.
"Cooper's got an ankle [injury]," Sarkisian said. "Let's monitor that thing and see what that looks like moving forward."
Not exactly a great indicator of Cooper's status for the rest of the season, or even for the upcoming week, but it's also extremely early on, with the team still less than a half day removed from the first game of the year.
The best news is that he was able to walk off the field under his own power to get to the locker room, and was putting weight on it throughout the rest of the game (sure, he may have had a walking boot on, but he wasn't using crutches and he wasn't standing perfectly still).
Additionally, Cooper was far from the only running back on Texas's depth chart to catch people's attention on Saturday afternoon.
While Brown and Smothers put on a show, combining for 104 rushing yards, 39 receiving yards, and three total touchdowns, three other running backs got to test their legs in the first game of the year, not including Cooper.
James Simon entered the game late in the second half and earned 19 yards and one touchdown. Ryan Niblett had two carries for 10 yards, and Michael Terry III had three carries for eight yards.
Not to mention that quarterback Arch Manning, who showed an unbelievable amount of poise and restraint in the backfield, ran the ball just three times for six yards, and QB2 KJ Lacey earned three yards on his two carries.
It is clearly unfortunate that Cooper suffered an ankle injury, and right now, all we can do is hope that it isn't something extremely serious. However, it isn't the end of the world for the Texas running back room, and that is undeniably the silver lining of the current situation.
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