The Texas Longhorns are dealing with some major injury questions before visiting Missouri in Columbia on Saturday.
The final injury report released Friday night shed some light on the status of some key Texas players, including multiple starters. The good news? Multiple players were upgraded to probable, but the bad news is that the status of two others remained unchanged.
UPGRADED TO PROBABLE:CB Kade Phillips, WR Ryan Wingo, CB Graceson Littleton
REMAINS QUESTIONABLE:DE Colin Simmons, WR Cam Coleman
RULED OUT:RB Hollywood Smothers, OL Trevor Goosby, TE Nick Townsend, DE Richard Wesley
Texas Longhorns defensive end Colin Simmons (1) in action during the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at the Cotton Bowl. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Simmons traveled with the team to Columbia and will test out his ankle injury during pregame warmups.
If he plays, Simmons is expected to be on a pitch count. It truly looks like he will be a game-time decision.
Simmons has missed the past two games and the expectation was that he could return against Missouri but that remains to be seen.
Coleman suffered an upper-body injury in the first half during the win over Mississippi State. He returned to the sideline with a sling on his left arm/shoulder.
Per Thamel's report, there is not a ton of optimism that Coleman will play against Missouri.
Though Coleman is arguably Texas' most talented receiver, the production hasn't quite matched that. He's the team's third-leading receiver behind Wingo and Emmett Mosley despite playing in all eight games this season.
The Longhorns will continue to lean on Wingo and Mosley moving forward if Coleman is officially ruled out against Mizzou and beyond. So far this season, Coleman has tallied 23 catches for 409 yards and seven touchdowns.
If Littleton or Phillips are unable to play, freshman cornerback Samari Matthews would be one of the players expected to step up.
Should that happen, Sarkisian is confident in what he brings to the table.
"Samari, he's a really mature guy," Sarkisian said. "He kind of reminds me of a of a younger Graceson Littleton that way with the mindset, football is important to him. He works at his craft. He's humble enough to know what he doesn't know, and he's willing to be coached. He has a physical presence about him."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/texas as Texas Longhorns Get Good and Bad News on Final Injury Report for Missouri Game .
