:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/50241547/usa-today-9391773.0.jpg)
The careers of two Texas Longhorns football players are over after suffering injuries that will cause them to take medical scholarships, sources told Horns Digest on Thursday.
Junior tight end Blake Whiteley suffered an ACL injury in fall camp last season that caused him to miss the entire campaign and spring practice, while senior wide receiver Ty Templin suffered a similar injury around the same time.
The school has not yet confirmed the news as of Thursday evening, but Horns247 did back up the report from Horns Digest.
The prospective loss of Whiteley is significant for the ‘Horns — the tight end position has suffered numerous setbacks in recent years and Whiteley is now another footnote in that long and unfortunate story.
A native of Vancouver, the 6’5, 242-pounder was the No. 24 junior college prospect in the country and the top-rated player at his position out of Arizona Western College in the 2014 class, according to 247Sports.
Whiteley redshirted his first season and never played a snap for Texas. And so while there were questions about how he would transition to high-level college football after playing in Canada, he was the highest-rated tight end to sign with the Longhorns in years.
Now new offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert will have to rely on senior Caleb Bluiett, junior Andrew Beck, and freshman Peyton Aucoin this season after 2015 signee Devonaire Clarington was never able to make it to campus last year after his ACT score was flagged and he ultimately couldn’t qualify.
Like senior safety Dylan Haines, Templin was a walk-on success story under head coach Charlie Strong out of Trinity Valley High School in Fort Worth, playing in 11 games as a sophomore in 2014 and catching a seven-yard pass against Kansas. Last fall, he was put on scholarship just before he suffered his ultimately career-ending injury after playing in two games and making a special teams tackle against Rice, the only tackle of his career.
If Whiteley and Templin do indeed end up on medical scholarships as reported, Texas will be at 84 scholarships for the 2016 season with last weekend’s addition of former LSU kicker Trent Domingue, leaving a scholarship available for 2016 defensive end/linebacker signee Erick Fowler.