AUSTIN, Texas — “I will say that the bye, like we thought, came at a very good time for us from a standpoint of getting some guys healthy. Obviously, we were pretty nicked up coming out of the Vanderbilt
game and getting our guys fresh.”
Monday’s opening statement from Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian heading into Saturday’s matchup against the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens provided some insight into the team’s health after the season’s second and final bye week.
Later in the press conference, Sarkisian provided more concrete updates on the team’s most significant injuries to sophomore wide receiver Ryan Wingo, redshirt senior safety Michael Taaffe, and junior safety Jelani McDonald.
“All those guys practiced this morning, look great. I don’t foresee any setbacks there, so feel good about that,” Sarkisian said.
Wingo suffered a thumb injury in the win over Vanderbilt after scoring a 75-yard touchdown on a screen pass to start the game. The injury happened on Wingo’s second catch midway through the first quarter and he did not return, though Sarkisian said on his post-game press conference that the St. Louis product could have played in an emergency.
The Longhorns have been playing with Taaffe, one of the team’s most important leaders, since he broke his thumb over the win against the Wildcats in Lexington.
The struggles in the secondary intensified when McDonald left early against the Commodores with a concussion that put him into protocol last week.
When redshirt freshman Xavier Filsaime aggravated his shoulder injury, Texas was in a difficult place with a number of inexperienced players in the game, contributing to the fourth-quarter comeback attempt by Vanderbilt that fell three points short.
So although Sarkisian did not provide an update on Filsaime, the time to build strength back in the shoulder will also be important for the Horns even though projects to play fewer snaps against the Dawgs than he has in previous weeks.
