CJ Baxter enters the transfer portal, closing a three-year chapter defined by promise, injury, and what-ifs
Texas RB CJ Baxter will enter the transfer portal after an injury-limited 2025 season. Here’s why he struggled and what his departure means for the Longhorns.
CJ Baxter, the former five-star centerpiece of the Longhorns’ 2023 recruiting class and Offensive Newcomer of the Year, told ESPN he’s officially entering the transfer portal, closing the book on a turbulent chapter in Austin — one that began with immense promise and ended with two seasons spent battling injuries and watching crucial opportunities slip away.
Baxter’s 2025 stats tell a harsh story. The junior running back managed just 196 yards on 54 carries with no touchdowns and a modest 3.6 yards per attempt. Six of his eight games this season featured single-digit carry totals, with extended stretches where Texas simply couldn’t — or wouldn’t — trust him as a featured back.
Baxter’s stat line doesn’t tell the whole story
Baxter entered 2025 still rehabbing from a devastating LCL/PCL tear suffered in the 2024 preseason — an injury that cost him his entire sophomore year and forced Texas to rebuild its backfield from scratch. By Week 3 this fall, he went down again, this time with a significant hamstring injury on the opening play against UTEP. He never found his rhythm or explosiveness after that. Sarkisian’s offense kept pivoting — leaning on Quintrevion Wisner, experimenting with committee approaches, then ultimately relying on Arch Manning’s arm when the ground game stalled.
Texas needed Baxter to be the physical, downhill presence that could anchor the run game through the SEC grind. Instead, injuries kept pulling him off the field before the offense could ever build around him.
Now, after two seasons derailed, Baxter is searching for the one thing Texas can’t give him anymore: a real shot at the starting job.
How Baxter’s exit reshapes Texas’ backfield
Baxter’s exit speeds up a shift that was already in motion. Texas rolls into 2026 with one of the most loaded skill-position classes of the Sarkisian era:
Derrek Cooper (5-star RB): The centerpiece. A complete back with elite burst, balance, and contact power. He’s the immediate favorite to claim the RB1 role the second spring practice kicks off.
Jermaine Bishop Jr. (5-star ATH): A dynamic weapon who can line up anywhere — slot, jet sweep, wildcat, motion packages. Texas is already scheming around him like a Swiss Army knife.
Jett Walker (3-star RB): The productive, downhill grinder built for SEC attrition. His 5,460 yards and 81 touchdowns scream reliability — something Texas has been missing.
Samari Matthews & other 2026 athletes: Versatile, multipositional pieces Sarkisian thrives with. The offense will have more formation flexibility than at any point since he arrived.
Portal RB expected: Texas is expected to target a veteran rotational back in January to stabilize the room and ease Cooper’s potential workload early.
What’s next for Baxter?
He’ll be one of the most intriguing bounce-back candidates in the portal: a 6-1, 227-pound runner with proven vision, power, and burst when healthy. Programs needing an immediate between-the-tackles presence — especially in the Big Ten or ACC — will line up. His talent was never in question. His availability was.
Bottom Line
This is the cost of the SEC era — depth wins, development wins, staying healthy wins. Baxter couldn’t remain in the field long enough to reclaim his role, and Texas couldn’t wait forever (especially considering what their talented 2026 class brings to the table). It’s an amicable separation that opens the backfield for the next wave of stars, but Baxter’s freshman year — 659 yards, 4.8 per carry, and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year — will always serve as a reminder of what might have been. Baxter’s upside was undeniable, but durability issues and inconsistency made the backfield unpredictable. With a fresh stable of SEC-ready athletes, the Longhorns enter 2026 with the clearest vision of their run game since Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson played together.
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