Texas will be without top tailback Hollywood Smothers for Saturday's home game against No. 7 Ole Miss as the No. 19 Longhorns try to avoid a third straight loss. Smothers, who leads the Longhorns with 289 rushing yards on 65 carries with two touchdowns, was ruled out on the SEC availability report after a shoulder injury in last week's loss to Florida. Raleek Brown and freshman Derrek Cooper should see increased carries.
The Longhorns already will be without edge rusher Colin Simmons (ankle), who leads the nation in sacks and tackles for loss, after an ankle injury against the Gators. With starter Arch Manning facing increased scrutiny after critical fourth-quarter turnovers, the Longhorns gave increased first-team snaps to redshirt freshman quarterback KJ Lacey in practice. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Manning needs to play better. "He's our starter. But I need a better version of Arch Manning," Sarkisian noted. Manning is No. 10 in the SEC in completion percentage (63.9%) with five interceptions.
Sarkisian described Manning's demeanor as "edgy" and said the best way for him to fight back is by playing really good football with his teammates. "I'm looking forward to watching him compete Saturday night," Sarkisian added.
Source: ESPN General · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing