“Making progress” is a fairly broad statement, but that’s what Mack Brown said about injured quarterback David Ash on Monday.
Brown added that Ash’s post-concussion symptoms “are subsiding,” though he’s already been ruled out for Texas’ game this weekend against Kansas.
This is all especially relevant this week after Brown burned the redshirt of promising freshman quarterback Tyrone Swoopes late in Texas’ 30-7 win over TCU on Saturday. Brown said after that game: “It’s a fluid situation. We don’t know what’s going to happen with David. Want Swoopes to get ready for rest of season.”
It’s a move that caused plenty of hand-wringing in Austin, but even if Ash’s symptoms are subsiding as Brown said, it’s still risky to assume he’ll be back at any point this season.
At 4-0 in the Big 12 -- and with a win over Oklahoma -- Texas is a legitimate contender for a conference title. It’ll come down to the final three weeks of the season, when UT gets Oklahoma State and Texas Tech at home before a season-ending game at Baylor.
Case McCoy is Texas’ quarterback for now, but Brown needs a contingency plan. As long as Ash isn’t in the picture, that plan is Swoopes -- and if he’s needed in that brutal three-game stretch to close out the season, perhaps it’s better for him to get some experience under his belt before then.