Key defensive players will return from injury for Longhorns to face Georgia

AUSTIN (KXAN) — This past bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for the Texas Longhorns, especially their defense.

Michael Taaffe, Jelani McDonald and Xavier Filsaime are all expected to play in Saturday’s showdown against No. 5 Georgia in Sanford Stadium, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian told reporters Monday. Taaffe is recovering from thumb surgery to repair an injury he suffered against Kentucky, McDonald was diagnosed with a concussion early in the game against Vanderbilt and Filsaime has been banged up over the past few games.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said he doesn’t expect any setbacks in their recoveries and should be available.

“Those three guys are factors for us,” Sarkisian said. “All those guys affect what we do on the perimeter. It’s everybody working together and communicating with confidence.

If we can play as one, as a unit, we’re pretty good back there. So getting those guys back healthy, and the emergence of Jonah (Williams), has been helpful for us. I’m very confident in that unit, and I’m looking forward to them playing Saturday night.”

Freshman defensive back Graceson Littleton has been an integral part of the secondary this season, something Sarkisian didn’t exactly expect. Littleton has stepped into the Longhorns’ “star” position, a defensive back/linebacker hybrid spot, to collect 31 tackles, two interceptions and a forced fumble. He’s played in all nine games with six starts, and as a player who was competing for Wiregrass Ranch High School in Tampa, Florida, last year, the toll the Southeastern Conference takes on a body is quite a bit different.

“To play the amount of snaps he’s played as a true freshman, to have a bye week to get his body refreshed is big for him,” Sarkisian said.

Ryan Wingo, Texas’ big-play machine at wide receiver, also took advantage of the bye week to heal up after a thumb injury in the Vanderbilt game. He scored a touchdown on the first play of the game, taking a screen pass 75 yards to the end zone to help set the tone in a 34-31 win over the Commodores, a top-10 team at the time. Sarkisian said he practiced Monday and is expected to be a full participant moving forward.

“We were pretty nicked up coming out of the Vanderbilt game, so it was nice to get our guys fresh,” Sarkisian said. “Obviously, this week is a heck of a challenge, going to play Georgia. They are a very tough team to play at home, and this year in particular, one thing that has stood out is their ability to find adjustments and play really well in the second half. We’ll need all three phases to play well.”