Texas’ Friday injury report changed the shape of its offensive problem. Hollywood Smothers’ absence removes the Longhorns’ leading rusher, but Jaydon Chatman’s move to out and Jackson Christian’s new questionable designation leave the offensive line unsettled around whoever takes those carries.
That broadens the complication for Texas. The SEC availability report, posted Friday evening, listed Smothers, Chatman and wide receiver Kaliq Lockett as out for Saturday’s visit from No. 7 Ole Miss. Christian was added as questionable, while running back Derrek Cooper was listed as probable.
Those designations leave Texas with different decisions at different positions. Texas has a confirmed absence at running back, a confirmed absence on the line and another offensive-line spot that remains unresolved. Cooper gives the backfield a probable option, while his starting role and workload remain unresolved.
The staff still has to decide how the carries and blocking combinations fit together. Keeping protection assignments coherent will matter on passing downs as well as running plays.
Texas’ ground game was hardly an overflowing resource before this report. Through six games, the Longhorns have produced 810 net rushing yards, averaging 135 per game and 3.6 per carry, according to the team statistics. Smothers owns 289 of those yards.
His departure removes more than a name from the depth chart; it removes a substantial share of a rushing attack that has not consistently created surplus yardage.
Yet replacing production and replacing structure are different jobs. If Cooper receives the first opportunity, his chances will depend partly on which line combination Texas can use against Ole Miss. If the Longhorns spread the work among multiple backs, each player may enter a different protection or run concept.
If Christian is unavailable, the uncertainty grows again. None of that assigns blame to Chatman or forecasts poor play from his replacement. It simply leaves Texas with fewer settled pieces for a game against a 5-1 opponent.
The report’s timing makes the issue harder to tidy up. Texas hosts Ole Miss at 6:30 p.m. Central Saturday, after losing consecutive games to Oklahoma and Florida by 27-24 scores.
Those results do not establish a permanent offensive flaw, and one questionable lineman could be cleared. But a team averaging 3.6 yards per carry has less margin for its blocking plan to be improvised than a team routinely producing explosive runs.
