With just weeks to go before its season opener against Colorado State, Texas has lost a key contributor on its offense.

Texas announced Wednesday that sophomore running back CJ Baxter will miss the season. He was expected to help lead the Longhorns' rushing attack this fall. Baxter injured his knee during Tuesday's first full-pads practice of the season.

Baxter will need surgery, according to UT's press release. Orangebloods reported that Baxter had torn his PCL and LCL ligaments.

What the Longhorns are losing in Baxter

The 6-foot-1, 220-pound Baxter, who was a five-star prospect during the 2023 recruiting cycle, has dealt with a series of injuries since he arrived at Texas. He left a game against Rice with a rib injury and his game against Texas Tech was cut short by a hip pointer. A foot injury also sidelined Baxter for a game. Baxter started last year's season opener — the last true freshman to have done that as a running back at Texas had been Ricky Williams in 1995 — but those injuries opened the door for Jonathon Brooks’ breakout campaign.

Baxter still rushed 138 times for 659 yards and five touchdowns in 2023. Both he and Jaydon Blue were placed on the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award, and Baxter earned a second-team nod on the SEC's preseason team.

"I've just seen a lot of growth and a lot of maturity," UT center Jake Majors said of Baxter last week. "I really appreciate him stepping into that role with Blue and just taking it head on and embracing the fact that we've had all these great running backs come through and he wants to live up to that standard."

Next man up: Jaydon Blue

Without Baxter, Texas' running game now will lean more on Blue and sophomore Quintrevion Wisner. Last season, Blue averaged 6.1 yards over his limited carries while Wisner mostly contributed on special teams. More carries could also become available for incoming freshmen Jerrick Gibson and Christian Clark.

Blue recorded only 80 carries and 14 receptions over his first two years at Texas. But on Tuesday, he noted that Brooks patiently waited behind Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson for two years before he took advantage of his opportunities last year.

"I always use JB as the example," Blue said. "He didn't play much his first two years and he played a lot last year and he went to (NFL) after one year. I always look back at that and it puts a lot of belief in me that if I just stay patient and work, then everything I want (will happen)."

As for Blue's 94 touches, tight end Gunnar Helm said don't read too much into them. "He's played a lot of football, to be honest with you," he said. "Don't let the minimum snap count in games last year fool you, especially at the beginning of the year. He's been stepping up in practice, and every time he touches the ball, you feel like something special is going to happen."

Baxter himself said last week that "we all know Jaydon is a phenomenal player. One of the fastest guys on the team."

A strong rushing attack has traditionally been a staple of head coach Steve Sarkisian's offenses. Excluding a 2015 season at USC in which he was fired after the fifth game, Sarkisian has had a 1,000-yard rusher in each of his other nine years as a head coach. Texas' leading rusher in Sarkisian's first three years has each rushed for at least 1,100 yards.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football injury update reveals CJ Baxter out for 2024 season