Texas Longhorns Steve Sarkisian Provides Injury Update on TE Ja'Tavion Sanders

Texas Longhorns star tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders suffered an injury in last week's win over the Kansas Jayhawks.
Texas Longhorns Steve Sarkisian Provides Injury Update on TE Ja'Tavion Sanders
Texas Longhorns Steve Sarkisian Provides Injury Update on TE Ja'Tavion Sanders

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AUSTIN, Texas -- The No. 3 Texas Longhorns are set to get their star tight end back for Saturday's rivalry showdown with the No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl. 

Per Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, Ja'Tavion Sanders will play vs. Oklahoma.

“JT looks great. He’ll be good to go Saturday,” Sarkisian said.

Sanders injured his ankle in the 40-14 win over the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday after having his lower body landed on in a pile. He was in visible pain while limping off the field and eventually went back to the locker room after remaining on the sideline with his helmet on for a while.

This season, Sanders has posted 13 catches for 278 yards and one touchdown.

Entering the Kansas game, Sanders was tied with Colorado State's Dallin Holker for first among tight ends in the country with 268 receiving yards, which also led the Longhorns at the time. Holker has proven to be a weapon with four touchdowns compared to just one for Sanders, but the Texas pass-catcher did so on just 12 catches compared to Holker's 22 grabs. 

After catching a 44-yard touchdown in the season opener against Rice, Sanders followed this up with five catches for a career-high 114 yards in the win over Alabama. In the win over Baylor, it was more of the same with five grabs for 110 yards, as he showed off his elite yards-after-catch ability.

The Longhorns and Sooners kickoff from the Cotton Bowl on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.


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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT

Zach Dimmitt is the Deputy Editor for Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He also contributes as a writer for the On SI channels of the Oregon Ducks, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Buffalo Bills on SI, Philadelphia Eagles on SI and Seattle Seahawks on SI. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Dimmitt received his Bachelor’s Degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. He originally started with SI’s Fan Nation network in 2021, providing extensive coverage of the NFL and NBA along with college football and basketball. In that time, Dimmitt has published thousands of stories and has reached millions of people across multiple fan bases. You can follow him on X at @ZachDimmitt7

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