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Steve Sarkisian provides update on Ja'Tavion Sanders' status

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•09/30/23•

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Ja'Tavion Sanders (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Texas tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders left the No. 3 Longhorns’ game versus Kansas in the first half of action after his leg was rolled up by Jonathon Brooks on a second quarter run. Sanders was able to hobble off the field, but was in considerable pain and was seen in street clothes on the Texas sidelines in the second half. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian had an update after the game.

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“He got rolled up,” Sarkisian said. “We’re hopeful we’re going to get him back by next week. How does he respond? It’s not anything that we think is structural. It’s not a broken bone or a torn ligament or something, but how bodies respond is how they respond. I know our medical staff and he will do all the work they can to get him as healthy as they can to see if he’s going to be able to play or not next week. We’ll find out. We watched him run on the sidelines and we just didn’t feel like it was going to be in his best interest to put him back out there in the state that he was in.”

Prior to his exit, Sanders had one catch for 10 yards. Entering the game, Sanders had 12 catches for 268 yards and one touchdown. He had recorded 100-yard games versus Baylor and Alabama.

In 2022, Sanders caught 54 passes for 613 yards and five touchdowns. The 54 receptions were the most for a tight end in program history and his 613 receiving yards tied for second-most in a season by a tight end in program history. He played in all 12 games during his freshman season, mostly on the field goal unit. Sanders signed with Texas as part of the 2021 class.

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