Steve Sarkisian evaluates Texas running game, Cedric Baxter injury

After losing a superstar running back tandem this offseason, Steve Sarkisian was happy to see his depth shine at the position in the season-opener.

Of course, the reason Texas got to their depth at running back is that starter CJ Baxter went down with an injury in the second quarter and did not return. Sarkisian provided an update on that situation after the game and also credited his other running backs for stepping up to the plate.

“I thought we found some rhythm in the running game. I thought the protection got better as we went along,” Sarkisian said of his ground attack.

“So on that front, do I want it to be better? Of course I do. Like, that aspect, I’m always striving for it to be better. But I do understand where some of the mishaps might have come. And so, we got to get that cleaned up, because if not, some of the same things we saw today, we will continue to see.”

Sarkisian then credited Baxter for the 32-yard run he had before going out while providing the latest on the RB’s health.

“CJ obviously had that nice run and I think what it looked like is he landed on the ball and kind of had a rib issue. We just wanted to make sure we were getting checked out,” Sarkisian said. “I’m hopeful it’s not serious but we don’t know for sure yet.”

So not much news on the Baxter front, but the guys who stepped in for him performed well.

“Yeah all those guys did well and all four guys that went in there,” Sarkisian said. “I mean, Jonathon (Brooks), nice play on the screen for the touchdown. You know, (he) ran the ball really effectively.

“Jaydon Blue, I thought, showed a lot of toughness today, which sometimes it’s hard to tell in practice when you’re not tackling everyday. I thought Keilan (Robinson), what he did was effective today.”

Blue and Brooks took the brunt of the carries after Baxter exited, as they combined for 22 touches and 107 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, Robinson contributed just one carry for three yards.

Obviously, having Baxter is ideal, but it was nice for the Texas staff to see that their running back room is plenty deep if injuries do strike.

“So hopefully we can we can get CJ back healthy and ready to go for next week and and have all four of those guys able to roll,” Sarkisian said. “They’re very versatile players that provide a lot to us offensively that we can utilize.”