Texas Gets Smothers and Coleman Back for Mississippi State, but Colin Simmons Slides to Doubtful
Thursday's availability report cleared the Longhorns' starting running back and a starting receiver, kept Kaliq Lockett probable, and moved their star edge rusher the wrong way - with Trevor Goosby and Richard Wesley already out.
Texas will have its backfield and one of its top receivers at full strength on Halloween night. Senior running back Hollywood Smothers and junior wide receiver Cam Coleman were both removed from the Longhorns' Thursday availability report, Burnt Orange Nation reported, upgrading them from probable to available for Saturday's 6:30 p.m. game against Mississippi State at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Smothers, who missed one game with a shoulder injury, returns to a run game that leaned on depth against Ole Miss. Coleman left that 34-27 win after landing on his shoulder making a catch on the first play of the third quarter; his removal from the report clears him to start. Sophomore receiver Kaliq Lockett remains listed as probable, the one offensive question mark left on the report.
The defensive news runs the other way. Junior edge Colin Simmons was downgraded from questionable to doubtful with an ankle injury, in line with reports that he is likely to miss multiple games - a significant absence for a pass rush facing a Mississippi State offense that has to throw to keep up. Senior left tackle Trevor Goosby (knee) and freshman edge Richard Wesley (ankle) were both ruled out on Wednesday and stay out.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday that he believes Wesley could return in the next several weeks, the only timeline offered for any of the three absentees. The SEC's final availability report lands before kickoff Saturday; the desk's game coverage follows the 6:30 p.m. start.
