Normally, when a team that’s given up 111 points and 1,137 yards of total offense the past two games loses a player on the defensive side of the ball, it wouldn’t be worth much of a mention.
When said player is one of the most talented at his position in the country, regardless of his team’s stats? Yeah, it merits mention.
Texas announced Sunday evening that defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat will miss the remainder of the 2012 season due to a right pectoral rupture suffered in the Red River Blowout loss to Oklahoma. The junior missed spring practice earlier this year due to a rupture of his left pectoral muscle suffered in the November game against Texas A&M that, after he played two more games, ultimately required surgery.
Jeffcoat will be eligible for the 2013 NFL draft, and has long been thought of as an early-entry candidate. It’s uncertain how back-to-back pec ruptures will or won’t impact his decision on which direction to take his football future.
Prior to his latest injury, Jeffcoat had been a force, credited with 3.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, six quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery “returned” for a touchdown.