Texas’ defense was already reeling following its beatdown at the hands of BYU Saturday, followed by the firing of its defensive coordinator Sunday. As if that weren’t enough, the Longhorns’ offense has now taken a significant punch to the gut as well.
UT head coach (for now) Mack Brown revealed Monday that running back/wide receiver Daje Johnson will not play in Saturday’s game against No. 25 Ole Miss due to injury. Johnson injured his ankle on the third play of the loss to BYU and did not return.
It’s unclear at this point in time how long Johnson will be sidelined. The ‘Horns open up Big 12 play a week from Saturday against Kansas State.
Johnson is one of UT’s most explosive players on the offensive side of the ball. He scored twice in the season-opening win over New Mexico -- a 66-yard touchdown pass, 24-yard touchdown run -- and totaled 129 yards of offense (62 rushing, 67 receiving) on nine touches.
While the status of Johnson has been determined, the same can’t be said for UT’s starting quarterback.
David Ash suffered a head and shoulder injury (no, it wasn’t a shower accident) in the BYU loss. He is officially listed as questionable, per Brown.