CJ Baxter injury update: Texas RB shares glimpses of his recovery ahead of Longhorns' Week 4 showdown

Ahead of a season where big things were expected of them, the Texas Longhorns lost running back CJ Baxter to a season-ending injury. Baxter tore both an ACL and LCL in his right knee which necessitated surgery ruling him out for the rest of the season.

Barely a month after he had surgery on his knee, the Texas running back shared a video on his Instagram stories of himself on an exercise bike working on his recovery.

CJ Baxter praised by Texas coach

CJ Baxter was one of the most influential members of the Texas Longhorns team that won the Big 12 championship and reached the college football playoff semifinals last season. He tallied 658 yards on 130 carries resulting in five touchdowns to contribute massively to the Longhorns' cause.

When Texas coach Steve Sarkisian announced the season-ending injury to the Texas star, he was full of praise for the influential running back.

"Obviously we got some unfortunate news coming out of practice the other day with Cedric Baxter being lost for the season,” Sarkisian said. “I hate it for the kid. The same way I talked about Liona Lefau the other day, if you polled our team who the top three teammates on our team, Cedric Baxter would be in that top one, two or three as well."

Sarkisian also praised Baxter's personality and how he is regarded in the dressing room as a person affirming the expectations of the Longhorns to have him back in time for next season.

“As much as we love him for the player that he is, we love him more for the teammate that he is,” Sarkisian added. “Our thoughts and prayers are with him. We’re encouraged by all the doctors that he’s going to make a really healthy recovery and we’ll have him back for next season.”

Baxter was poised for a big season for Texas. Retired Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban in his capacity as an analyst for the SEC Network during the SEC media days called him "the best running back" of any team.

In the absence of CJ Baxter, several players have attempted to step in including Tre Wisner, Jaydon Blue and Jerrick Gibson. Gibson is the Longhorns' leader in several statistical categories including yards (178), carries (33) and rushing touchdowns (two).

Tre Wisner has 19 carries resulting in one touchdown while Jaydon Blue has 20 carries.

Steve Sarkisian already revealed that CJ Baxter would be back for the 2025 season and the encouraging signs of recovery post-surgery will fill Longhorns fans with hope.