Texas’s already disastrous loss to Maryland got a little bit worse on Monday when Tom Herman revealed that Shane Buechele suffered a bruised throwing shoulder.
Herman said Buechele wasn’t exactly sure when the injury occurred, but he knows it came when he hit the ground after throwing the ball away.
Buechele finished the game -- he was 34-of-52 for 375 yards with two touchdowns and one interception -- and woke up in pain on Sunday. True freshman Sam Ehlinger will take the first team reps at practice on Tuesday.
Tom Herman said QB Shane Buechele has a bruised throwing shoulder and will not practice on Tuesday. Will be evaluated this week.
— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) September 4, 2017
However, Herman said that if Buechele can play, he will play."The doctors have said that rest is the best option right now and just to keep evaluating it every 24 hours or so,” Herman said, via the San Antonio Express-News. While Ehlinger, according to Herman, is not yet ready to play, he is close.
Herman on the QB situation: "Shane's our starting quarterback. If he can play, he's gonna play."
— Brian Davis (@BDavisUT) September 4, 2017
Wide receiver Jerrod Heard will take reps as the Longhorns’ second-string quarterback this week in case of emergency. Heard, of course, was Texas’s starting quarterback for most of the 2015 season, hitting 92-of-159 passes (57.9 percent) for 1,214 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions. Heard moved to wide receiver last season but has retained a package at quarterback under Herman; he carried once for four yards in the Maryland loss.
Texas faces San Jose State on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, LHN).