Texas Football: Jake Smith’s status up in the air after hamstring injury
Texas football could now be without one of their most proven returning receiver targets in the season opener, after Jake Smith’s hamstring injury.
The start of the 2020 season for the Texas football program is now less than four days away. But Texas is already dealing with a multitude of injuries heading into the Sep. 12 season opener. The latest injury news to surface for head coach Tom Herman and Texas this week, ahead of the opener, reported that sophomore wide receiver Jake Smith is dealing with a hamstring injury from practice.
The news of the hamstring injury for Smith in practice this week came courtesy of Horns247 on Sep. 9. A timetable apparently still remains unknown for the possible return of Smith to the Longhorns receiving corps for the season opener this weekend. Even if the injury is minor, Smith reportedly could be held out against the UTEP Miners on Saturday night.
Smith was set to be the Longhorns starting slot receiver in the showdown against UTEP this weekend. He’s one of the more proven and productive returning wide receivers for Herman and recently promoted wide receivers coach Andre Coleman this fall. Smith registered 25 catches for 274 receiving yards and six touchdown catches from his true freshman campaign.
Now it appears that redshirt freshman wide receiver and the former converted running back Jordan Whittington will take the spot of Smith as the starting slot receiver against UTEP. Whittington spent most of his true freshman campaign dealing with a sports hernia injury that kept him out of all games but a few minutes of the season opening win over the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.
Whittington now looks to start at receiver alongside the former Michigan grad transfer and senior Tarik Black and redshirt sophomore Joshua Moore. Watch out for junior Brennan Eagles, fellow former grad transfer and senior Brenden Schooler, and sophomore Marcus Washington also to make an impact at receiver in the opener.
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Texas is set to open up their season on Sep. 12, with kick off at 7 p.m. CT, against UTEP out of the Conference-USA, at home at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. UTEP carries a record of 1-0 into the game, as they got the win in their opener on Sep. 5 over the FCS Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks by the final score of 24-14.