The good news around Texas fall camp came to a screeching halt this morning. Trevor Goosby, Texas starting LT and one of the best OTs in the country, reportedly left Monday’s practice with an apparent knee injury. He’s slated to get an MRI today to see the severity of the injury, but contingency plans need to be put in place now.
These are the top three options I see for filling the gap left by Texas’ preseason All-American(all combos have Robertson at C and Seymore at LG):
LT Melvin Siani, RT Brandon Baker, RG Hutson OR Sikorski
This seems to be the most popular among Texas fans. Siani moving to LT feels inevitable in some ways, with his experience at that spot while at Wake Forest. Then, Brandon Baker would slide back outside to his position
from a year ago, right tackle across from Siani. Finally, Cole Hutson and Dylan Sikorski would be the options to replace Baker at RG. This is possibly the “safest” of the options but would require reshuffling once Goosby returns.
LT Melvin Siani, RT Coleman OR Cojoe
This is my personal favorite solution. Again, Siani takes over at LT, considering he’s comfortably the most complete option at OT. At RT, it comes down to how much you trust Jordan Coleman or Andre Cojoe enough to slide them in. To me, this is the cleanest solution and the one that gives you more consistency while adding Goosby back into the fray. That being said, it’s also a solution that could have a lower “floor” than any other option.
LT Brandon Baker, RG Hutson OR Sikorski
I’ll be shocked if this is the path Texas goes, but it is an option. Like the last one, there are just two moves to be made here, which is a plus. However, Baker moving to left tackle is a rather big ask, considering he’s been working at right guard all offseason. If they feel comfortable doing this, this could be a clean solution that keeps the tackle play at a high level while Goosby is recovering.
Overall Thoughts
This is a devastating loss. There’s no other way to spin this. However, Texas does have very viable options to keep their head above water while Goosby finds his way back. Which solution Texas goes with could fully depend on how much time Goosby misses. We’ll know the answer to the return timeline question later today. Hopefully by the scrimmage on Saturday, we have a firm answer of what the starting OL will look like against Texas State.
Trevor Goosby is, to me, the second most important player to the Texas offense. However, there are paths forward where this Texas OL can hold their own while the All-American gets healthy, which is more than can be said about other teams around the country. One thing that can't happen is another starting OL goes down for the Longhorns. Then, the scrambling really begins in Austin.
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: What options does Texas have if OT Trevor Goosby is hurt
