College football is a business now more than it's ever been, and this was exemplified when Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian let CJ Baxter leave the Longhorns. Baxter, a former five-star recruit who suffered a torn ACL with Texas, wasn't given the full opportunity to make up the ground that he lost to missed time. At Kentucky, Baxter will have the chance to make Sarkisian regret his decision.
Baxter himself would likely never say this outright. In fact, when asked about the comments that Sarkisian made regarding letting some "pretty good players" go, Baxter responded with no response at all: "No comment," he said, per KSR. The guy is a class act.
At the same time, he's also an undeniably talented running back who had his "big shot" cut short at one of the biggest programs in the entire sport. Now that he's back to 100%, Will Stein was the guy to give Baxter a second chance at greatness.
Baxter is now set to cut out a sizable role in coordinator Joe Sloan's offense as the Wildcats' starting rusher. With the worst hopefully behind him, the revenge tour has officially begun for this third-year back with everything to prove.
CJ Baxter Has Everything to Prove This Season at Kentucky
In a clip from Kentucky's Media Day (per Keith Taylor), Baxter described his injury as "very humbling," detailing the process that got him to the position he's in today. "I had a point where I couldn't take a shower by myself... but I think that God wouldn't have gave me that if he didn't think I could handle it."
That's a mindset that the Big Blue Nation can happily buy into. A torn ACL is widely seen as a dreaded "death toll" of sorts, often being marked as the most egregious injury an athlete can suffer. Especially so early in Baxter's career, his luck hit a speed bump far too soon.
But where better to turn the page than Lexington? Alongside Baxter's own comeback, Kentucky Football is working to revive itself from the inside out. Baxter, alongside Kenny Minchey on the scoring side of the ball, have a massive hill to climb ahead of them with Kentucky's strong schedule.
Baxter and Kentucky Must Prove the College Football World Wrong
All the same, there's no better way to prove the world wrong than to mount seemingly insurmountable expectations.
While Kentucky won't get the chance to face Texas directly, the Wildcats nine-game SEC schedule (ranked as the fourth toughest in the nation) has many outlets counting Stein's first batch of Wildcats out already.
Just as a true return to form this season was deemed improbable to Baxter, which led to the Longhorns letting him go, Kentucky has been consistently doubted to reach the .500 mark, let alone enter nationally competitive territory.
Yet the Cats' upside is undeniable, and if Baxter can reach the heights that he was recruited for initially, Sarkisian may be looking on as he leads the Cats to an improbable tear through the SEC. Baxter will have all of BBN at his back, either way.
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