Two Texas Longhorns Players Absent From Opening Days of Fall Camp

The Texas Longhorns have gotten fall camp rolling with two practices now in the books as the final preparation for the regular season continues.

Texas entered fall camp with almost nothing to report on the injury front, a great sign for Steve Sarkisian's team headed into the season opener against Texas State on Sept. 5.

However, there were still two notable names from the secondary that were not on the field during the 20-minute media viewing window of Thursday's practice.

Two Texas Defensive Backs Not Seen at Day 2 of Fall Camp

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian runs across the field during warm-ups prior to the NCAA football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Texas Longhorns on SI was in attendance during Thursday's practice and can confirm that two freshmen, cornerback Samari "Smoke" Matthews and safety Yaheim Riley, were not with the other defensive backs during drills.

It's unclear if they are dealing with an injury or what their absence is for. Sarkisian did not report any injuries while speaking to the media after Day 1.

Inside Texas had originally reported on Wednesday that Matthews and Riley were both held out of practice. And on Thursday, Texas Longhorns on SI was able to confirm that they were absent once again, at least during the media window.

It's also unclear if Matthews and/or Riley practiced in some form before or after the media viewing window had ended, but unless they were for some reason wearing a different jersey number, they were not on the field doing drills. Matthews wears No. 11 and Riley No. 31, numbers shared only by running backs Michael Terry III and James Simon, respectively, both of whom were out there practicing.

This included being absent among the group of other defensive backs that included Graceson Littlelon, Jonah Williams, Kade Phillips, Kobe Black, Jordan Johnson-Rubell and others during interception drills against air. Players like Williams and Black were making plays on the ball but the two freshmen were not among them.

Matthews, a four-star recruit in the 2026 class, earned a ton of praise during spring ball and fixes to be a vital piece of Texas' future on defense once he gets a year of experience under his belt.

Riley, a three-star prospect from local Austin Anderson High School, hopes to be the latest Austin product to shine in the Texas secondary, joining the likes of Jahdae Barron, Michael Taaffe and Andrew Mukuba.

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