Texas football: Senior defensive end suffers foot injury against Oklahoma

Senior defensive end Jacoby Jones is doubtful to return after suffering a right foot injury early Saturday against Oklahoma, according to ABC sideline reporter Holly Rowe. After limping around the sideline with trainers around each arm, Jones was taken to the locker room for further evaluation.

“That’s a disappointing development for Jones, he’s a guy who brings energy and effort every play,” said ABC broadcast Chris Fowler.

Jones plays at the defensive end and jack positions for Texas. He entered Saturday’s Red River Rivalry with 18 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, over the first five games of the season.

With Jacoby Jones out with the foot injury, Notre Dame transfer Ovie Oghoufo has stepped into the lineup for Texas.

More about Jacoby Jones

Jacoby Jones is midway through his third season at Texas after transferring from Butler Community College. The St. Louis, Missouri native has 61 career tackles with two sacks. He has one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries over his career.

He is currently playing under the free year of eligibility given by the NCAA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jones became a key member of the defense this season and beat out multiple contenders for the starting job.

Steve Sarkisian on the defense

Ahead of the Red River Rivalry, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian hoped the Longhorns defense would do a better job finishing out the game.

“I’ll be honest, I contemplated taking a time out trying to regroup them a little bit, kind of like basketball, because they could feel it. I thought maybe we would need that time out, depending on what happened later, so I didn’t.”

Though Texas pulled out the 32-27 win over TCU, Sarkisian seemed to regret the decision not to call the timeout.

“If you look back on it, maybe I should’ve,” he said. “I think we are getting closer to putting together a four-quarter football game with the right mental intensity and the right focus that is going to be needed Saturday. We are playing a team that is not going to stop attacking us, whether we are on the ground or through the air, regardless of the score. So, it is going to take a four-quarter game from our defense on Saturday if we want to be successful.”

The Texas defense is allowing 394.4 yards per game on average. The Texas defense has pitched just one shutout, in a 58-0 win over Rice, but the unit has let up an average of 35 points in the other four games. Notably, in the loss to Arkansas, the Texas defense let up 333 rushing yards.