David Ash will miss Texas' game against BYU on Saturday after he suffered a concussion in the Longhorns season opening win over North Texas. Ash said he did not have any symptoms of the concussion until after the game.
Ash suffered a hit by early in the game from North Texas' Jarrian Roberts on a poor snap from center Dominic Espinosa.
"Anytime you have that number of concussions, you have to be concerned," head coach Charlie Strong said. "You're always concerned about a young man's health, and we would never jeopardize a young man's health just for this football team. Players' health is always first."
Ash, a junior, was expected to be an instrumental part of a Texas resurgence. Ash has suffered from concussions and concussion symptoms in the past. Last year, Ash missed most of the season due to recurring concussion symptoms.
Stepping in for Ash will be sophomore Tyrone Swoopes. Swoopes played in five games last season, but only in games where the outcome was already decided. He went 5 of 13 for 26 yards. Swoopes also ran for 79 yards in 2013. The game against BYU will be Swoopes first collegiate start.
There was also more bad news for the Longhorns. Center Dominic Espinosa broke his right ankle and will be out indefinitely. Espinosa will probably miss the remainder of the regular season.
The loss of Espinosa is immense. He started every game for the Longhorns since 2011 and was the most experienced starting lineman. It is possible that Espinosa could apply for a sixth year of eligibility due to the ankle injury, though it is always tough to say if the NCAA will allow him to play in 2015.
With BYU coming to town on Saturday, Texas hopes to have a better game this time around than last year. In 2013, Texas traveled to Provo, Utah and got run over 40-21. BYU ran for 550 yards and racked up 679 yards of total offense. Taysom Hill had 259 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. Jamaal Williams added 182 yards. Williams was suspended for BYU's opener against Connecticut, but will be back for the game against Texas on Saturday.