AUSTIN, Texas — Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday that freshman running back Derrek Cooper is still in a walking boot and will remain in one “for the foreseeable future.”
Cooper hurt his right ankle in Saturday’s season opener and did not return to the game.
Steve Sarkisian Says Derrek Cooper Remains In A Boot
The injury came on a one-yard gain early in the second quarter of the Texas Longhorns‘ 59-7 win over Texas State at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Cooper limped off with trainers and went to the locker room. He came back to the sideline in the second half wearing a boot on his right foot, according to Burnt Orange Nation.
His collegiate debut ended with 2 carries for 6 yards.
Sarkisian said Saturday night that the injury is to Cooper’s ankle.
“Derrek Cooper’s got an ankle (injury),” Sarkisian said. “We’ll monitor that thing and see what that looks like moving forward.”
Cooper opened the season third on the depth chart behind Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown, a job he won during fall camp over three older backs. Texas also planned to use him on special teams.
He signed with Texas out of Chaminade-Madonna Prep in Hollywood, Fla., as a consensus four-star recruit ranked No. 109 nationally and the No. 7 running back in the 247Sports Composite. He is listed at 6-foot-1 and 212 pounds.
Cooper’s grasp of the offense stood out to Sarkisian during fall camp for a player his age.
“I really love D-Coop. He’s a hard-charging guy,” Sarkisian explained. “He plays physical. He plays fast. He’s a very natural football player. I don’t know if you’ve seen any of his high school film, but he played defense, he played offense, whatever was needed to be successful. So the game comes pretty naturally to him.”
Texas Longhorns Host No. 1 Ohio State On Saturday
Smothers and Brown combined for 143 yards from scrimmage and 3 touchdowns against Texas State. Arch Manning completed 20-of-27 passes for 305 yards and 4 touchdowns with 1 interception before leaving midway through the third quarter with Texas ahead 42-7.
Brown said Cooper has leaned on him and Smothers since the injury.
“His spirit’s high because he knows he’s still got us,” Brown said. “He looks up to us and we just lean in the right direction.”
Texas entered the opener ranked No. 5. Ohio State opened with a 56-3 win over Ball State and is ranked No. 1.
The Buckeyes lead the all-time series 3-2, and Saturday will be the third consecutive season the two programs have met. Ohio State won 14-7 in Columbus in last season’s opener, holding Texas to its fewest points since Nov. 6, 2021. That game drew 18.5 million viewers. Ohio State also beat Texas 28-14 in the Cotton Bowl Classic semifinal in January 2025, a game watched by 20.6 million. Saturday will be Ohio State’s first trip to Austin since 2006.
ESPN’s College GameDay will broadcast live from the Texas campus from 8-11 a.m. CT on Saturday, hosted by Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban, and Kirk Herbstreit.
Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
