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Dave Wilson, ESPN Staff Writer
No. 4 Texas suffered its second season-ending injury at running back Monday when true freshman Christian Clark tore an Achilles tendon in practice, the school announced Tuesday.
Texas said Clark will have surgery and will miss the remainder of the year, six days after announcing CJ Baxter, last year’s opening-game starter, will undergo season-ending knee surgery.
The losses leave the Longhorns with three scholarship running backs.
Jaydon Blue, who has appeared in 23 games at Texas, rushing for 431 yards with three touchdowns, is expected to shoulder the load this season. He had four catches for 45 yards in the Longhorns’ College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Washington, in which he also returned three kickoffs for 80 yards.
Behind Blue, the Longhorns have sophomore Quintrevion Wisner, who played in all 14 games last season on special teams, and freshman Jerrick Gibson, who was ranked as the No. 2 running back and the No. 59 prospect in the 2024 ESPN 300.
Clark, a four-star recruit from Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix, signed with Texas in December.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian told reporters Monday that Clark and Gibson, who both had fumbles in Saturday’s scrimmage, were “further down the road than some may think.”
