Texas Football: Jake Smith ill, not cleared to play vs. Tech yet
Sophomore Texas football wide receiver Jake Smith isn’t conclusively cleared to play yet in the Big 12 opener against Texas Tech.
Texas football has a sizable test on the road this weekend in their Big 12 opener. And they need every part of their team working at maximum efficiency to ensure that they take care of business in Lubbock on Sep. 26 against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the mid-afternoon slate.
But it looks like the Longhorns could reportedly (Horns247 paid content) still be missing a couple of their top slot wide receivers in the Big 12 opener this weekend. Texas was already set to miss redshirt freshman wide receiver Jordan Whittington due to a minor meniscus tear, and they could now also be absent of sophomore wideout Jake Smith due to a non-COVID-19 related illness. Smith apparently hasn’t practiced yet this week, and a lot of the determination as to his status for this weekend against Texas Tech hinges on whether he practices on Sep. 24.
Smith was set to be the starting slot receiver against Texas Tech, which was where he could make his season debut for the Longhorns. That hamstring injury caused him to miss the season opener against UTEP, which then put Whittington as the starting slot receiver.
Whittington was solid in his limited time in game action in the first half against UTEP. Before his injury, he registered three total touches for 60 yards and no touchdowns. Of those 60 total yards, 45 were receiving on two catches. Meanwhile, if Smith gets to start against the Red Raiders this weekend, it will be his first snaps of the 2020 season.
Last season, Smith registered 25 catches for 274 receiving yards and six touchdowns (11.0 yards per catch). He did tie for second on the team in drops last season, but that was only with three on the entirety of his true freshman campaign.
Next. Problematic Red Raiders for Texas in Big 12 opener. dark
If Smith isn’t able to make his season debut this weekend, then it should either be former Oregon Ducks and Arizona Wildcats transfer and senior wideout Brenden Schooler getting the start in the slot, or it will be sophomore former walk-on Kai Money. Both Schooler and Money got a good number of snaps, and each got a receiving touchdown, in the opener against UTEP.