Gardner hasn’t played since carrying the ball five times against UTSA.
A third Texas Longhorns running back is officially out for the season after head coach Steve Sarkisian confirmed during the SEC weekly teleconference that Kansas Jayhawks and SMU Mustangs transfer fifth-year senior Velton Gardner suffered a football-related eye injury.
Horns247 first reported the news late last month.
And so while Gardner was the fourth-string running back added from the transfer portal during preseason camp due to season-ending injuries suffered by sophomore CJ Baxter (knee) and freshman Christian Clark (achilles), since he’ll be unable to return, Texas will have to finish the 2024 season with three healthy scholarship running backs.
Those margins are thin, as confirmed early in the season when junior Jaydon Blue suffered an ankle injury against Michigan, ultimately missing one game, and sophomore Quintrevion Wisner got banged up against UTSA, causing him to miss a game.
Gardner was a member of the 2019 recruiting class out of Dallas Skyline ranked as a consensus three-star prospect, the No. 817 player nationally, and the No. 51 athlete, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Gardner played quarterback for Skyline, throwing for 2,459 yards and 26 touchdowns in addition to 842 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground after amassing more than 3,000 total yards and 30 yards as a junior.
Gardner signed with Kansas over offers from Colorado, Houston, Kansas State, Syracuse, Texas Tech, and others.
As a true freshman, Gardner contributed on special teams for the Jayhawks with two tackles while making one start at running back among his 10 appearances, rushing 26 times for 138 yards and two touchdowns and catching six passes for 24 yards. Over the next two seasons, Gardner started five more times, totaling 381 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 101 carries, redshirting in 2021 after playing in three games.
After transferring closer to home to play at SMU in 2022, Gardner started once in 18 games for the Mustangs, combining for 505 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 93 carries, including 62 rushing yards against Charlotte last season.
When Gardner arrived on the Forty Acres, he received three carries for 11 yards in the season opener against Colorado State and five carries for 15 yards against UTSA before suffering the season-ending injury. Gardner could apply for a medical redshirt to continue his collegiate eligibility, but seems unlikely to receive another season on scholarship for the Longhorns.