Texas coach Steve Sarkisian keeping the Longhorns healthy by utilizing latest NFL training tactics

Knock on wood or whatever you’ve got. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said the Longhorns are “great health wise, quite frankly” this far into training camp despite two major injuries at running back.

“ We’ve had a couple tough injuries , season ending injuries that you have to deal with,” Sarkisian said Monday after practice. “But we’re really not missing many players at all that are out.”

Starting running back CJ Baxter (knee) and freshman Christian Clark (torn Achilles) were lost for the season. The coach pulled the reigns back during last Saturday’s scrimmage, refusing to allow ballcarriers to be taken to the ground but still forcing them to maintain ball security.

Veteran center Jake Majors was also held out with a minor ankle problem. “A guy like Jake Majors, who’s been here for 15 years and started about 100 games, I don’t know if he necessarily needs that scrimmage,” Sarkisian said. “But I needed some of those other centers to get some work.”

Sarkisian compared UT’s situation to the NFL preseason. The starters play about one full half of the third preseason game, “but they’re getting them ready for showtime.”

Sarkisian said he spent time during the offseason talking extensively with NFL coaches about how they handle various situations, including how to structure the training camp schedule.

Sarkisian specifically mentioned Bill Belichick, Andy Reid, Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan — coaches who have all won or reached the Super Bowl — about how they manage their teams.

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“I’m not dealing with 28- to 32-year-olds, you know? Five- to 10-year vets. I still have 18- to 22-year-old guys that are still learning how to play, and there’s a fine line in that,” Sarkisian said. “But again, I’m hopeful that we play good football all year and that we’re fresh and we’re fast.

“I think that’s a big asset of ours is team speed, and I don’t want to lose that by overworking our guys,” he added. “But I also want to make sure that we keep our edge, because I do think there’s a style of play that we’ve created around here that is physical, tough and hard-nosed. And we want to maintain that as well.”

Sarkisian said the Longhorns will go through their typical “mock game” on Saturday inside Royal-Memorial Stadium. The Horns practice their stadium intros, like running onto the field through the tunnel, and will go over microphone checks with the new helmet communications systems.

Most important, Sarkisian will have them out there at 2:30 p.m., right as the hot Texas sun is cooking full throttle. The projected high Saturday is 96 degrees in Austin, according to the National Weather Service.

The season opener against Colorado State on Aug. 31 is scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff.