Texas Longhorns HC Steve Sarkisian expects to have two major playmakers back for the SEC opener versus Florida
Huge boost coming for Arch Manning and the Texas offensive attack.
On Monday, Texas Longhorns’ head coach Steve Sarkisian said he expects have both Tre Wisner and CJ Baxter back and ready to roll for the SEC opener versus Florida in two weeks. He spoke with the media about the impact of the bye week ahead of this huge game.
“That’s what this week is for.. as Wisner and Baxter start to find their way back, we have to find out the best balance and combo,” Sarkisian said. “We’ll use this week to try to figure out the workload balance. Sometimes a week like this shows us that we need to remove some things because they aren’t as good as we thought they might.”
Wisner played in the opener versus Ohio State but has sat out the last three weeks. Baxter sustained a hamstring injury on the first play from scrimmage against San Jose State and sat out last weekend to rest it.
The bye week comes at the best time as the run game needs to get going.
Especially the aforementioned Baxter and Wisner. Both have been on the shelf for a few weeks and need some time to get acclimated again.
“When you get into a game, is there potential rust? Sure, there always is,” Sarkisian said. “But I’m hopeful that because of the way we practice and the intensity we practice with that he’s going to feel game-like practice reps when we go good-on-good.
“And there’ll be a fair amount of good-on-good this week, as well as next week – game week – to where the speed of the game won’t feel overwhelming to him because of the speed of the way we practice.”
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It will need to be all hands on deck in the Swamp.
Despite the 1-3 record, the Florida Gators run defense is very good. Billy Napier’s defense is allowing just 111.3 yards per game on the ground. I think you not only need Baxter and Wisner back, but you need them to take some weight off the shoulders of Arch Manning.
And not just in the run game, but a potent rushing attack will open things up for the passing game as well. This is crucial for the Longhorns as the team hits the road for the first time since Week 1.
“Going to The Swamp, there’s people that would argue it’s the toughest place to play in the country,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got two coaches in our office who have coached there before, and said it’s the loudest place they’ve been. And so you just know you’re going into a hostile environment.”
