Texas lost more than a drive in its 59-7 win over Texas State on Saturday. Derrek Cooper, the freshman running back who had started to carve out early playing time, injured his left ankle in the second quarter and finished the game in a boot.
Steve Sarkisian said afterward that Cooper will be in a boot for the foreseeable future, a phrase that leaves Texas without a clean timetable for when he can return. That matters now because the injury came in the season opener, the first real test of how the Longhorns would sort out carries behind Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown.
Cooper suffered the injury on a one-yard run and later emerged for the second half with the boot on his injured left ankle. He finished with two carries for six yards, a small line that now carries a larger meaning. Texas brought him in as a high-profile running back signee in the 2026 recruiting class, and he had already passed Ryan Niblett, Michael Terry III and James Simon to get onto the field early.
The depth chart, though, does not always line up with the most effective player on a given Saturday. James Simon was listed last among the backs who got meaningful work, yet he looked like the most productive one, scoring on a late seven-yard touchdown run and finishing with three carries for 18 yards. Michael Terry III had seven snaps and three carries for eight yards, while Ryan Niblett had two carries for 10 yards in seven snaps. In other words, Texas has bodies at the position, but not an obvious answer if Cooper is sidelined longer than a week or two.
That is where the next stretch gets tricky for Texas. Cooper’s injury does not just remove a freshman with buzz; it forces the staff to decide whether the carries that were beginning to flow his way now shift more heavily to the backs already behind Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown, or whether Simon’s efficiency earns him a bigger role. Sarkisian has already given the only public hint available, and “for the foreseeable future” is not the kind of phrase that settles a rotation. It only tells Texas it will have to sort one out without Cooper for now.
