Two More Texas Longhorns Ruled OUT vs. Kentucky; Pair of Others In Jeopardy?

The Texas Longhorns are going to be short-staffed when they head to Lexington to take on the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday.

Per the Thursday SEC Student-Athlete Availability Report, five Texas Longhorns are now listed as out vs. the Wildcats.

On the Wednesday report, center Cole Hutson, wide receiver Aaron Butler, and linebacker Jonathan Cunningham were all listed as out, while running back CJ Baxter was listed as doubtful, and guard Connor Stroh, defensive tackle Maraad Watson and safety Xavier Filsame were all listed as questionable.

Now, Stroh and Filsame have both been ruled out of the Saturday Contest, while Watson remains listed as questionable, and Baxter is still considered doubtful.

The Longhorns Are Battered and Bruised

Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Cole Hutson in action during the game vs. Ohio State. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Texas should be able to bear the loss of Filsame thanks to a stacked safety room behind current starters Jelani McDonald and Michael Taaffe.

However, the loss of Stroh is a little bit more troublesome, as the depth behind starting guards Nick Brooks and DJ Campbell is thin as a razor.

Now backing up Brooks - a true freshman - will be junior Neto Umeozulu, who has struggled with his consistency at points this season. That said, at least in terms of PFF Grades, Umeozulu has been the Longhorns second-highest performing interior lineman to see the field

Behind Campbell will be redshirt freshman Nate Kibble, who has two has only played in two games in his career - both of which were this season against San Jose State and Sam Houston State.

In the event of another injury on the interior, a veteran like Jaydon Chatman could be moved inside, while younger players like freshman center Daniel Cruz or freshman linemen Jordan Coleman and Devin Coleman also need to be prepared.

Center Remains Concerning As Well

Obviously, however, the major story for Texas in terms of injuries still remains the loss of Huston, who has started all but one game this season at center. Fortunately, it seems the setback is not a major one, and he should return soon.

"Cole's not some season-ending injury, but it is an injury. He'll be out," Steve Sarkisian said Thursday. "Hopefully, you know, he'll be back sooner rather than later. Time will tell, you know. We have another player on the team who has a very similar injury, who bounced back, probably quicker than we anticipated. So hopefully he's not out very long."

In place of Hutson, the Longhorns will start junior center Connor Robertson, who has played in 23 games with one start in his career. That start came against Sam Houston State, where he played all 60 snaps of that game.

In fact, in terms of PFF grades, Robertson has been almost identical to Hutson so far this season.

Most importantly, Steve Sarkisian is confident in the fourth-year player's rapport with starting quarterback Arch Manning, his knowledge of the offense, and his comfortability within the Longhorns system.

“One thing Connor has is he has a really good rapport with Arch, they’re very close,” Sarkisian said. “There’s some connectivity there, which is important with the quarterback in the system. He’s been in the system. There’s not a look or a call that he can’t make to get everybody on the same page. You talk about continuity, it’s not like we’re throwing a new guy in there at center. This guy has been in the program. He knows all the calls, so we’re very comfortable with him that way.”

Texas and Kentucky kick off at 6 pm on Saturday on ESPN.