Texas Football: 3 key injuries that will hamper the team vs. TCU

Josh Thompson, CB

What is definitely the most detrimental injury to the Longhorns efforts this weekend to try and take care of business against the Horned Frogs came to senior cornerback Josh Thompson. Earlier this week, Thompson suffered a concussion which rules him out of the game against TCU on Oct. 2.

We don’t know for sure yet when Texas will see Thompson return. But if concussion protocol goes by smooth and quick for him in the next few days, he could be ready for Red River on Oct. 9.

It’s easy to argue that Thompson was the best cornerback for the Longhorns through four games. He registered his first career pick-six in the win over Texas Tech last weekend. That was also the first pick-six for Texas in more than three years.

Thompson started to become a trusted lockdown cornerback that was performing well against some tough competition. He is also one of the highest-graded defensive players for the Longhorns so far.

So far this season, Thompson did a great job keeping plays in front of him. While he has allowed catches on six of the eight passes that went his way in pass coverage assignments, he’s only given up four yards after the catch.

To go along with that, Thompson has six stops, 15 combined tackles, one tackle for loss, and one fumble recovery so far. Thompson has made a positive impact in a number of areas of the game for this Texas secondary. He will be missed in this matchup against the Horned Frogs.

Thompson was set to mostly face either Derius Davis or Johnston in pass coverage this weekend. That assignment on the outside will now fall to Dunn. Kitan Crawford is also a corner to watch to try and fill the gap left by Thompson in this defensive backfield against TCU.