Texas football faced a challenging week after their 22-19 overtime loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship. Coach Steve Sarkisian aimed to get his team healthy during this period. The Longhorns returned to practice on Monday, with Sarkisian optimistic about their well-being as they prepared for their first-round College Football Playoff meeting with Clemson on Saturday. Three offensive starters with ankle issues - offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr., wide receiver Isaiah Bond, and quarterback Quinn Ewers - were on the field during the afternoon practice at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, participating to different extents.

Ankle Injuries and Their Impact

The 6-foot-4-inch, 320-pound Kelvin Banks Jr., a Lombardi Award and Outland Trophy winner, injured his left ankle early in the team's 17-7 road win over Texas A&M in the regular-season finale on Nov. 30. This forced him to miss the SEC Championship. Sarkisian admitted that he was cautious with Banks due to the upcoming College Football Playoff. "I was probably the one that held him back more than he actually wanted to do, but I wanted him to come back today feeling really good about where he was at," Sarkisian said during his news conference. He is comfortable with Banks' progress.Quinn Ewers has been dealing with an ankle issue since he was brought down in a hip-drop tackle at the end of a scramble in the second quarter of the team's 31-14 win over Kentucky on Nov. 23. He played through the injury in the win over Texas A&M and the loss to Georgia. Sarkisian is pleased with Ewers' condition heading into the crucial game against Clemson. "I think he's continually getting better," said Sarkisian. Ewers felt better coming out of the SEC Championship than he did going into the game, having been sacked six times while throwing for 358 yards and a touchdown.Isaiah Bond has been hampered by an ankle injury since the Red River Rivalry on Oct. 12. He didn't return to the 34-3 win over Oklahoma after leaving the field in the first half. He fought through the issue in the team's 30-15 loss to Georgia at home on Oct. 19 and didn't play in an Oct. 26 road win over Vanderbilt. After catching a combined seven passes for 103 yards and a touchdown in consecutive wins over Florida and Arkansas, Bond only had three receptions for 49 yards and one rushing attempt for three yards over the team's last three games. He had a 22-yard catch in the SEC Championship before his right ankle was pinned.Sarkisian said Bond is "kind of in the same boat as" Banks and Ewers. While Banks and Ewers appeared to be full participants in practice on Monday, Bond didn't look to be at full strength during the media viewing window. "Any time you have an ankle injury, it just takes time," Sarkisian said. They took last week to completely shut Bond down to get him as healthy as possible. "He's going to do everything in his power to play this week, but we're going to have to monitor that daily as it goes," Sarkisian added. He also mentioned having a great meeting with Bond last week to discuss getting him back on the field. "I'll get a little better gauge coming out of practice today and tomorrow as to kind of where he's at and how what his availability will look like for Saturday."