Kyle Flood benches Andrej Karic as the Longhorns try to replace two injured starters.
With junior wide receiver Jordan Whittington and super senior Jack end Jacoby Jones out indefinitely and set to undergo surgery after suffering injuries last weekend against the Oklahoma Sooners, the Texas Longhorns made multiple changes to the depth chart for this weekend’s game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Austin.
- The most significant change is not injury related — super senior Tope Imade is in line to receive his first start after entering the season with eight appearances as a reserve. The decision by offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Kyle Flood comes after redshirt freshman right tackle Andrej Karic struggled against Oklahoma, particularly in pass protection. Inserting Imade allows Flood to move super senior Derek Kerstetter from left guard back to right tackle. Imade isn’t known as the most mobile or most flexible player, but at 6’6, 361 pounds, he is the type of massive human being that Flood prefers along the offensive line.
- At least according to the depth chart, the wide receiver who will get the first chance to replace Whittington is junior Marcus Washington. He was previously listed as the backup to junior Joshua Moore.
- On defense, sophomore Alfred Collins will replace Jones after posting a season-high three tackles against Oklahoma, including a sack. Collins was also credited with a quarterback hurry. But depth is clearly limited there with former walk-on Jett Bush listed as his backup. Freshman Barryn Sorrell has received some playing time on the edge as well.
- There are several other options available for defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and defensive line coach Bo Davis on the edge. With freshman defensive tackle Byron Murphy playing well as the third-team nose tackle, Davis could move junior Moro Ojomo back outside from defensive tackle to provide Murphy more playing time. The hope was that Ojomo would break through this year at a more natural position, but he hasn’t lived up to those expectations with 12 tackles and two tackles for loss. So the move would allow Murphy an opportunity after flashing as the defensive line’s most disruptive and help Texas ensure higher-level play against the run with Ojomo outside. The other option is to move freshman tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders to defense, the position at which he has the most long-term upside, and see if he can adjust quickly enough to make an impact.