AUSTIN (KXAN) — This late in the season, no team is 100% healthy, but the Texas Longhorns are trying their best to get as healthy as possible ahead of Wednesday's College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
The Longhorns are about to play their 15th game of the season in the middle of the expanded CFP and two key players are desperately trying to make it back on the field.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian said offensive lineman Cam Williams and wide receiver Isaiah Bond have been practicing and are "improving," but he didn't go as far as to say they'll be ready to suit up in Atlanta on New Year's Day.
"To some degree, it's how do you feel on gameday, right? When the adrenaline really kicks in, what does that feel like as a competitor? We have to make really good decisions with those guys if they play and how much and to what degree. I give them a lot of credit. They've been working. Our medical staff has done a great job of building them toward this."
Bond has been dealing with a high ankle sprain that kept him out of the CFP first-round game Dec. 21 against Clemson and Williams had his knee rolled up on during that game and didn't return. Fortunately for the Longhorns, the injury wasn't as severe as initially thought but he's still been limited in practice.
Sarkisian also said Jake Majors "finally feels good about where he's at." He got his bell rung on an illegal blindside block during an interception return in the Clemson game, and while he was cleared to return later, Sarkisian kept him on the sideline in the 38-24 victory. Quarterback Quinn Ewers has been dealing with an oblique injury since the middle of the season and "has steadily been improving."
"At this juncture of the season," Sarkisian said, "it's game No. 15 and everybody's got bumps and bruises. We're just trying to get our guys as healthy as we can."
Nine players from Texas have already entered the transfer portal, many of them on the defensive line. Sarkisian said some of the incoming freshmen who enrolled in school early have helped ease some of the burden in practice by stepping in for scout team reps.
Any incoming player who committed during the early signing period Dec. 4-6 can enroll in school and practice with the team, and the ones who did are already making an impact.
"From a scout team perspective, we needed some bodies to help us with practice," Sarkisian said. "The exposure they're getting now to our team, rapport, they're staying active, and we're getting a sense and a feel for what they're about."
Two of the players who entered the portal are still with the team.
According to the 247Sports recruiting rankings, Texas signed the best class in the nation for 2025, securing five 5-star recruits and 14 4-star players out of 25 signees.
