Texas HC Steve Sarkisian gives optimistic injury update on WR Isaiah Bond’s availability vs. No. 5 Georgia
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian gave reporters a positive late-week injury report about receiver Isaiah Bond in the final hours before facing No. 5 Georgia. “I would imagine tonight, we’ll upgrade Isaiah to probable for the game,” Sarkisian said Thursday. Bond was listed as questionable on Wednesday night’s SEC availability report. Bond tweaked his ankle after […]
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian gave reporters a positive late-week injury report about receiver Isaiah Bond in the final hours before facing No. 5 Georgia.
“I would imagine tonight, we’ll upgrade Isaiah to probable for the game,” Sarkisian said Thursday.
Bond was listed as questionable on Wednesday night’s SEC availability report. Bond tweaked his ankle after getting thrown to the ground against Oklahoma last Saturday in the Cotton Bowl. His agent went on social media and indicated the injury wasn’t serious.
Bond is tied for the team lead with 21 catches for 369 yards and has three touchdowns. The Horns have a slew of other targets for quarterback Quinn Ewers. Bond is the fastest, though.
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Also on the injury front, Sarkisian said freshman punter Michael Kern is looking better. Kern will likely return to his normal activity against the Bulldogs. Last week against Oklahoma, backup Ian Ratliff handled the punting chores. He averaged 44.3 yards on three attempts.
“I thought he did a heck of a job first time out,” Sarkisian said of Ratliff. “We didn’t protect very good on his first punt, but I thought he did a heck of a job after that.
Sarkisian added that Texas is “fortunate that Ian actually got some experience and feel good about kind of where Michael’s at as well.”
The coach also used his late-week press conference to rally the fan base to get on its feet and crank up the noise inside Royal-Memorial Stadium on Saturday night.
“I think in my time here, through four years, DKR has created an environment that has become intimidating, that has become loud,” Sarkisian said. “Our students do a fantastic job. But I think in this game, especially, we need more than our students. We need everybody in this ball game. It should be a rocking environment. We need to make it as difficult as we can on Georgia, and I think our fans can do that.
“I know I’ve heard it really loud before, and most notably, I remember hearing it really loud against Alabama in 2022 I heard it really loud at the end of that Kansas State game last year. My goal is that it's that loud for four quarters Saturday night.”
