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Months after an Achilles injury, Christian Clark's performance is impressing coaches and teammates alike

by:EvanVieth•04/10/25
Christian Clark
Christian Clark (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

After speedster Jaydon Blue declared for the NFL Draft early this year, Texas football’s running back room faced a lot of questions surrounding a young group.

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The most experienced veterans were now third-year players Quintrevion Wisner and CJ Baxter, with the latter spending the entirety of the 2024 season on the sideline with a significant knee injury. Depth at the position during this past season was a problem, with the former three-star Wisner shouldering the majority of the load alongside Blue.

Part of the reason for depth concerns last year stemmed from another preseason injury to freshman Christian Clark. Clark tore his Achilles around the same time Baxter was injured, meaning that two of the four returning running backs in Austin played zero snaps in 2024.

With Baxter still limited in practice, there were questions about whether the Longhorns would hit the portal for another ball carrier to avoid the same depth concerns from the past season. While that’s not out of the realm of possibility, head coach Steve Sarkisian and new running back coach Chad Scott were blessed with one of the most remarkable recoveries in recent Texas history.

Despite suffering an injury that often requires nine months of recovery, Clark entered spring camp looking like any other player—no brace, no medical green shirt, and with what appeared to be a significant increase in upper-body muscle compared to when he first arrived in Austin. Texas is still cautious with Clark about a few things, but it’s tough to tell he suffered a significant injury less than a year ago.

“(I’m) super impressed,” Sarkisian said. “Anytime you have a significant injury like that, and you miss an entire season, you’re always kind of monitoring, what are they going to look like when they really start to come back? And I could feel it in winter workouts… As practice has started, he looks in tremendous shape. He’s right back to having great balance and body control, which is something that we identified in the recruiting process.”

Clark will make his mark as a burner in the running back room, someone who possesses elite top speed and a tremendous motor that makes him a threat every time he steps onto the field. But as has often been the case with many additions in former running back coach Tashard Choice‘s recruiting classes, Clark’s versatility is shining in practice, and his peers are taking notice.

“For him not to be able to play for a full year from an Achilles, he’s come back in attack mode,” Wisner said about Clark. “He’s not playing timid.”

Wisner also emphasized how strong Clark has become, noting the significant work he’s put in at the weight room.

With Baxter still medically behind Clark plus the hope that Wisner won’t again have to take on a full bell-cow role this season, Clark and fellow second-year back Jerrick Gibson will have plenty of opportunities to make big plays with the ball in their hands.

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Just a redshirt freshman, Clark’s recovery and development has been an extremely pleasant surprise for everyone involved at Texas and has the chance to help the Longhorns on the field in 2025.

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