The Texas Longhorns RB Room Has Already Suffered A Major Blow

After fielding their worst rushing attack since World War II in 2025, the Texas Longhorns completely rebuilt their running back room this past offseason.

Not only did they bring in two of the top backs in the portal in Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown, but they also signed one of the top running backs in the nation, five-star Derrek Cooper.

Unfortunately for Texas, that room has already taken a major hit, with Cooper falling victim to an ankle injury in the Longhorns' 59-7 season-opening win over Texas State on Saturday.

On Monday, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian revealed the extent of the damage, and it doesn't look good for the five-star true freshman.

Sark Dishes on Cooper's Injury

Texas Longhorns running back Derrek Cooper. | X: @DerrekCooper80

"Derek's in a boot," Sarkisian said in Monday's press conference. "He'll be in a boot for the foreseeable future."

Cooper sustained the injury in the first half of the matchup vs. the Bobcats, on just his second carry of the game. Not long after that, he was seen walking to the locker room with the athletic training staff.

Minutes later, Cooper returned to the sideline in a walking boot, and never returned to the game.

Fortunately for Texas, Smothers and Brown were more than capable of handling the load against the Bobcats, combining for 104 yards on 21 carries between the two of them, with Brown tallying two touchdowns on the ground.

The question remains, though: what will the Longhorns' approach be going forward without their talented freshman?

Replacing Cooper

Entering the season, Cooper had a clearly defined role on this team behind Smothers and Brown. He is the biggest of the three backs and the one many expected to get short-yardage and goal-line carries for the Longhorns.

Obviously, there is far more to his skill set than that, but he seemed to be the most adept for those scenarios.

Now, with Cooper likely out against Ohio State this coming week and beyond, the Longhorns must find another solution in the running back room.

On paper, Michael Terry III would seem to be the logical choice. He stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 230 pounds, and has been running with tremendous physicality in practice thus far. The problem with Terry getting that role is that he doesn't have much game action under his belt.

Another option could be James Simon, who, while 22 pounds lighter than Terry, ran with good physicality himself in the Texas State matchup. Of course, the Texas State defense is not the Ohio State defense, so how much that translates to Week 2 is anyone's guess.

Either way, the Longhorns need to find an answer there, at least until Cooper returns.

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