AUSTIN, Texas — On the day he landed on the watch listing for the Doak Walker Award because the nation’s prime operating again, Texas sophomore CJ Baxter suffered a knee damage in observe on Tuesday. A supply with data of the damage instructed Horns247’s Chip Brown that the severity of the damage was unknown as of seven:40 p.m.
Baxter earned his stripes as a real freshman, dashing for 659 yards (4.8 yards per try) and 5 touchdowns. A 247Sports five-star prospect ranked No. 30 within the Top247 for 2023, Baxter stepped up down the stretch and helped Texas win the Large 12 title and get to the School Soccer Playoff after Jonathon Brooks was misplaced for the season with a torn proper ACL in a Nov. 11 highway win over TCU.
Within the Longhorns’ first sport with out Brooks, Baxter ran for a season-high 117 yards in a 26-16 highway win over Iowa State on Nov. 18. Buoyed by his breakout sport in opposition to the Cyclones, Baxter averaged 5.3 yards per carry over the ultimate 4 video games of the season, reaching the top zone on the bottom within the group’s 49-21 decimation of Oklahoma State within the convention championship sport and in opposition to Washington within the Sugar Bowl.
After ending his 2023 season on a excessive be aware personally, Baxter instructed reporters after one of many Longhorns’ camp practices final week that he’d been engaged on his pad degree and studying methods to diagnose the weak spots fronts to take his sport to a different degree. Baxter’s principal purpose, nevertheless, was to assist Texas recover from the hump after shedding to the Huskies within the nationwide semifinals and coming one play shy of reaching the nationwide championship sport.
“We received far final 12 months, however we all know the way it feels to get that far and never exit on prime,” stated Baxter. “This 12 months, we do not need to go that far and never end the job.”
Baxter’s operating mate, junior Jaydon Blue, stated after Tuesday’s observe that it meant quite a bit for Texas to get two operating backs on the watch listing for an annual award to the nation’s prime operating again. Ricky Williams (1997-98), Cedric Benson (2004), D’Onta Foreman (2016) and Bijan Robinson (2022) have received this system’s 5 Doak Walker Awards (tied with Wisconsin for essentially the most for the reason that award was first offered in 1990).
Whether or not Baxter or Blue is subsequent in line to proceed a wealthy operating again custom on the Forty Acres, Blue stated operating backs coach Tashard Alternative has fostered a selfless tradition in a room the place everybody needs to do no matter it takes to win video games.
“It simply exhibits the flexibility and the tradition that now we have right here, not solely [in] the operating again room, however on the group,” Blue stated. “There’s [four] guys which have accomplished it earlier than, so me and Ced having the ability to be on that listing is fairly good for us.”
