Steve Sarkisian provides injury updates on Texas RB Derrek Cooper, TE Nick Townsend

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As injuries begin to mount for the No. 1 Texas Longhorns after two games, head coach Steve Sarkisian provided several updates on Thursday ahead of the matchup against the UTSA Roadrunners at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

The positive news regarded freshman running back Derrek Cooper, who sprained his ankle in the season opener and sat out last weekend against Ohio State despite dressing.

“I think we’ll get Derrek Cooper back this week, which would be great for us,” Sarkisian said. “He was a guy who we had really high expectations for to start the year, and got hurt early in the Texas State game, wasn’t able to play last week, so we’ll get him back this week.”

A consensus four-star prospect ranked as the No. 7 running back in the 2026 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Cooper had two carries for six yards prior to his injury against the Bobcats and is listed as the third-string running back on the team’s depth chart.

The news from Sarkisian about sophomore tight end Nick Townsend, who suffered a knee injury on punt coverage against Ohio State, wasn’t as positive.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to go Saturday,” Sarkisian said.

Before leaving the eventual win over the Buckeyes, Townsend played 22 snaps on offense and three snaps on special teams. He did not receive a target in the passing game, but fellow sophomore tight end Emaree Winston had a significant impact in the second half, recording three receptions for 38 yards, including a big conversion on a 4th and 9 late in the third quarter, but also dropped two passes.

The Longhorns head coach did not provide an update on sophomore defensive lineman Justus Terry, who missed Saturday’s comeback win after sustaining a toe injury during pregame warmups, nor other players who were non-participants against the Buckeyes like sophomore safety Jonah Williams and junior nickel back Xavier Filsaime, who did not dress for the first two games.

“We’ve got other guys with some bumps and bruises, and that’s where the depth needs to start to step up, so we can rotate some guys,’ Sarkisian said.

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