Ahead of the Texas Longhorns’ 56-7 win last week against the UTSA Roadrunners, running back Jaydon Blue (ankle), defensive back Jelani McDonald (ankle), and defensive tackle Aaron Bryant (knee) were all ruled out pregame. In addition, defensive back Xavier Filsaime was not dressed to play for the contest. The reasoning for the true freshman’s absence was not disclosed.

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Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was asked Thursday about each’s status for the No. 1 team in the country’s upcoming contest against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks.

“In their own ways, varying, they were all limited to some degree,” Sarkisian said. “I think all those guys will be game-time decisions in varying degrees. I feel better about maybe a couple of them than another one. Again, we’ve got two full days, really two-and-a-half days until kickoff to see how healthy we can get those guys and then potentially, what we can get out of them.”

Blue, who rose to starting running back status in the wake of a season-ending injury to CJ Baxter, suffered an ankle sprain in the Michigan game. He would eventually return and told reporters post-game he was not concerned, but he was held out for the UTSA game for mostly precautionary reasons. Blue has 20 carries for 79 yards plus nine receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown.

Bryant appeared in the Longhorns’ season-opening win over Colorado State. He has one career tackle.

McDonald has played a variety of roles in the Longhorn secondary this season. He’s lined up at safety and even made an appearance at Star against the Michigan Wolverines. He’s been credited with four tackles this season, with two against Colorado State and two against Michigan.

Filsaime, whose reason for not dressing to play was not disclosed, played against Colorado State.

Sarkisian announced during his Zoom that Arch Manning would start in the place of Quinn Ewers. Ewers is recovering from a strained abdominal.

Next week when the Longhorns face a SEC opponent in Mississippi State, Texas will have to release injury reports on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and ahead of kickoff on Saturday. Those reports can be found on the SEC’s website here.

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Texas will battle ULM Saturday at 7 p.m. in Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The game will air on ESPN+ and SEC Network+.

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