Texas didn’t need a clean night to handle UTSA, but Steve Sarkisian still came away with one of the more meaningful wins of the evening: he found out something real about freshman running back Derrek Cooper.
The Longhorns’ 30-6 victory may look comfortable on the surface, yet the performance left plenty to sharpen before the schedule gets tougher. Even so, Sarkisian made a choice that stood out inside a game that was otherwise messy in spots - he kept giving Cooper opportunities, and the freshman answered.
Cooper had been a buzzworthy name through fall camp, with Sarkisian and the staff talking him up long before the season opener. “I really love D Coop.
You know, he's a hard-charging guy. He plays physical, he plays fast,” Sarkisian said.
“His understanding of the offense has been very impressive for a young player. I think his physicality, the speed in which he plays the game, has been very impressive.”
That faith showed up against UTSA. The Texas backfield is crowded, with transfers Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown leading the way, but Cooper still found a lane into the rotation. He had two carries in the third quarter, then settled in during the fourth.
That’s where the night changed for him. Cooper logged seven carries in the final quarter and finished with a one-yard touchdown.
On that scoring drive, 33 of his 44 total yards came in one burst of production. By the end of the game, he had a team-high 11 carries.
It may not be the kind of workload Cooper sees every week, but it mattered. Texas is one injury away from needing him in a bigger role, and Saturday gave Sarkisian a live look at what the freshman can do when the ball is in his hands.
That’s the kind of thing non-conference games are for. Sarkisian could have leaned entirely on Smothers and Brown and left Cooper on the side, but instead he used the matchup to test and develop a young player who clearly has a future in the offense.
Cooper isn’t going to be a hidden name for long. He’s talented, and the kind of performance he put together against UTSA suggests he’s headed for a larger role down the line. On a night when Texas still had plenty to clean up, giving him those touches was one decision Sarkisian got exactly right.
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