logo
Two Longhorns named to Comeback Player of the Year watch list

Two Longhorns named to Comeback Player of the Year watch list

USA Today4 hours ago
When the 2025 campaign begins, the Texas Longhorns offense is expected to be one of the best in the nation. They will be led by Arch Manning, who will have a talented supporting cast of new faces and veterans to rely on. That will include CJ Baxter and Christin Clark, who were named to the preseason watch list for the College Football Comeback Player of the Year award on Tuesday.
While expectations are high for the Longhorns' running backs, they both have been out of action for over a year. Baxter's 2024 season ended before it began last fall when he tore his LCL and PCL in camp. However, when healthy, the Orlando native has been hard to stop due to his speed.
In 13 games, during the 2023 campaign, Baxter recorded 659 yards on 138 attempts. As the Edgewater High School product provided a spark to the offense, he averaged 50.7 yards per game. He also found the end zone five times and added 156 receiving yards to his resume. During the postseason, he continued to impress with 64 yards on nine carries in the College Football Playoff semifinal against Washington.
Although the Longhorns are happy to have Baxter back in the mix, they will also get a boost from Clark. Like Baxter, he missed all of the 2024 season after tearing his Achilles in the fall. When he makes his college debut, many people will be watching closely. The talented running back arrived at Forty Acres with high expectations.
Coming out of high school, Clark was ranked as one of the top prospects in his class. During his varsity career, the Mountain Pointe High School product recorded 1,890 rushing yards and 24 rushing touchdowns. He was a key piece of an offense that averaged 150.5 rushing yards per game.
With the 2025 season less than two weeks away, Baxter and Clark's focus is on bringing a title to Austin. However, they will be watching how the Comeback Player of the Year voting shakes out. Adding more hardware after missing time would not be a bad comeback story.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Part of wild UCLA-Tennessee QB swap, Joey Aguilar excited to start for No. 24 Vols
Part of wild UCLA-Tennessee QB swap, Joey Aguilar excited to start for No. 24 Vols

San Francisco Chronicle​

time2 hours ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

Part of wild UCLA-Tennessee QB swap, Joey Aguilar excited to start for No. 24 Vols

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Joey Aguilar is half of college football's wildest flip-flops. When Nico Iamaleava departed Tennessee in April for UCLA, the quarterback left the Trojans to join the Volunteers. Now Aguilar has Iamaleava's old starting job. 'Coming out here and being the starting quarterback for this program is nothing but excitement, and that's all I can say," Aguilar said Wednesday. "I'm just super excited.' Adapting to changing circumstances is nothing new for the 24-year-old quarterback. When the coronavirus pandemic shut down junior college football in 2020, Aguilar was preparing to start on his goal to be a firefighter. He was lured back to football where he played two seasons at Diablo Valley Community College in California. He then played 25 games at Appalachian State in 2023 and 2024. Aguilar was ready to test himself at UCLA when Iamaleava was not welcome at Tennessee just before the Vols' spring game. Iamaleava transferred to UCLA . So Aguilar, who has the Bible verse Proverbs 3:5-6 tattooed on his ribs, gambled on moving again. Even Aguilar can't quite believe how everything has turned out. 'If you would tell me that in 2021, 2022, I probably would not believe it," Aguilar said. "I was in juco at that time, looking at players at this level, like, 'Dang, that's crazy. I wish I was there.' And here I am. I just got to thank Jesus for giving me the opportunity to be here.' Aguilar arrived on campus in Knoxville in May. He has size at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds and a resume featuring 6,760 yards passing with 56 touchdowns at Appalachian State. He also ran for 452 yards and five more scores. Aguilar will make his 25th career start Aug. 30 when the 24th-ranked Volunteers open the season in Atlanta against Syracuse. He had to beat out Jake Merklinger, who appeared in two games last season, and freshman George MacIntyre. Aguilar did it by quickly learning coach Josh Heupel's offense that the other quarterbacks already knew. That involved early mornings, late nights, lots of film and talking with coaches to learn both game plans and the concept of what Tennessee does on offense. "It took a while, but I got it down,' Aguilar said. Heupel said Tuesday that Aguilar showed just how comfortable he had become to the point he was able to control the offense as coaches asked. Tennessee announced Aguilar as the starter Sunday night in a social media post. 'His decision-making accuracy with the football, you know, our checks that he controls, you put all that together, and that's ultimately why we made the decision,' Heupel said. Even with his experience, Aguilar has had to adjust to just how fast Heupel wants Tennessee's offense to operate. The Vols ran an average of three plays per minute in his first season and at a rate of 10 seconds per play in his second. They mostly stuck to the ground reaching the College Football Playoff last season. How fast the Vols go this season will depend on Aguilar. He ran an up-tempo offense in 2023 at Appalachian State. 'We were like pretty on the ball, just not as fast,' Aguilar said. "So just getting used to getting in the signal and lining up and going through my progressions was just an adjustment I had to make.' As strange as this journey has been, Aguilar thanked his family, friends and coaches for supporting him all the way as he prepares to make his next start. 'I wouldn't go back and would want to change my journey at all.' Aguilar said. ___

College Football Playoff selection committee changes how it views strength of schedule
College Football Playoff selection committee changes how it views strength of schedule

USA Today

time2 hours ago

  • USA Today

College Football Playoff selection committee changes how it views strength of schedule

The College Football Playoff selection committee will put greater emphasis on strength of schedule in determining the field for the upcoming season. The change in metrics was part of a slew of modifications made to the selection process, the committee announced on Aug. 20. For the 2025 season, the schedule strength metric has been adjusted to apply greater weight to games against strong opponents. Also being introduced is the record strength metric, which goes "beyond a team's schedule strength to assess how a team performed against that schedule." PATH TO PLAYOFF: Sign up for our college football newsletter In the new metric, teams will be rewarded for defeating high-quality opponents and they won't be penalized heavily for losing such games. Conversely, teams will have minimal rewards for defeating low-quality teams but will be soundly penalized for losing such games. Strength of schedule has been something the selection committee has considered for the entire history of the College Football Playoff, but introducing a metric allows those in power to have another data point to determine rankings. It has been a topic of debate among teams and conferences in the fight to get their squads in, with some believing those with tougher schedules should be rewarded. It was a central argument in whether Indiana and Southern Methodist should have been included in last year's field given they didn't face many ranked opponents. While it has mostly centered on conference schedules, it could also benefit teams that schedule marquee non-conference games now that the penalty for losing isn't as damaging. "All of these modifications will help the selection committee as they rank the top 25 teams,' Rich Clark, executive director of the College Football Playoff, said in a statement. "We feel these changes will help construct a postseason bracket that recognizes the best performances and teams on the field during the regular season, and I want to thank our veteran selection committee members and data analytics groups for helping implement these changes." Additional changes to College Football Playoff rankings The selection committee also reviewed its ranking of teams not playing during conference championship week, the final games played before the 12-team playoff is revealed. The committee decided movement in the rankings should be "evidence-based" and didn't recommend implementing a formal policy to stop any movement. There also have been changes to the recusals. Previously, committee members weren't allowed to discuss or vote for teams if they were paid by the school or had a family member within the institution. Now, there will be full recusal and partial recusals. Members will be deemed partially recused if they have a secondary relationship, such as a family member employed by the institution but not within the football team or senior administration. In such instances, the committee member can participate in discussions related to the team, but still cannot participate in votes related to them. College Football Playoff rankings dates The selection committee will unveil its first rankings on Nov. 4, ahead of Week 11. The full schedule of rankings releases will be:

Caitlin Clark injury update: Fever guard reportedly tweaked ankle during workout
Caitlin Clark injury update: Fever guard reportedly tweaked ankle during workout

USA Today

time2 hours ago

  • USA Today

Caitlin Clark injury update: Fever guard reportedly tweaked ankle during workout

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark is working her way back from a right groin injury that has sidelined her for 13 consecutive games, but it was revealed Wednesday she suffered another injury during her recovery. Clark, who last suited up for the Fever on July 15, suffered a mild bone bruise in her left ankle during an individual workout session in Phoenix on Aug. 7, according to The Indianapolis Star, part of the USA TODAY Network. Clark tweaked her ankle the same day the team lost guards Sydney Colson (left ACL tear) and Aari McDonald (broken right foot) to season-ending injuries in the Fever's 95-60 loss to the Mercury. Ten days later, the Fever also lost guard Sophie Cunningham (MCL tear) for the season on Aug. 17, further depleting the team's backcourt. There's no timeline for Clark's return. Fieldhouse Files was the first to report the news of Clark's ankle injury. On Wednesday, head coach Stephanie White confirmed Clark has not returned to practice, which would mark a crucial step in her ramp-up process. "Until (Clark) can get into practice and until you guys see her in practice, we're really status quo," White said. "You never wanna see injuries happen, first and foremost," White added, referring to Cunningham. "You hate it when it's anyone, let alone the third season-ending injury that we've seen this year. But like I told our team ... yes, we've been dealt a crappy hand, but we have to play it." Clark, who previously missed time with a left quad and a left groin injury, has been sidelined 22 of the Fever's 35 games this season. Indiana is 8-5 with Clark in the lineup and 11-11 without her on the floor. The 2024 Rookie of the Year is averaging 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and a career-high 8.8 assists in 13 games this season. Her assists average is the second-highest in the league, behind Phoenix's Alyssa Thomas (9.0). Caitlin Clark injury timeline The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store