The placekicking struggles of the Texas Longhorns could get a needed boost in the near future with the return to health of former Penn State kicker Anthony Fera, who has been sidelined by a groin strain. Head coach Mack Brown said Monday at his weekly press conference that Fera has been upgraded to questionable for the Ole Miss game after being listed as doubtful last week.
Fera has missed most of fall practice after aggravating the injury early in fall camp, but could make the trip to Oxford this weekend, according to Brown. The Texas depth chart for this week does not list Fera at kicker, though he will presumably be the starter when he returns to health.
The Longhorns have dominated for the most part on special teams this season, leading the country in net punting, turning in a long punt return and a blocked punt against New Mexico, and pinning opponents deep on kickoffs, led by rampaging freshman Dalton Santos.
Placekicking, however? Eh, not so much. Nick Jordan missed two of his three attempts against Wyoming and then missed another against New Mexico. It's possible that Nick Rose could get a shot this week after converting at least one attempt against the Lobos.
The hope was that Fera wouldn't be needed until the start of conference season, but Ole Miss has been impressive on offense this season
Fortunately, Texas has been good in the redzone this season, but if it comes down to a last-second kick this week, the odds of Nick Jordan connecting from any distance do not seem particularly high at this point.