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The Texas Longhorns defense suffered a significant loss on Tuesday with the news that junior cornerback Holton Hill has been suspended for the rest of the season for a violation of team rules, according to head coach Tom Herman.
Texas CB Holton Hill has been suspended for the rest of the season for violation of team rules, school announces. Huge blow to the defense.
— Brian Davis (@BDavisAAS) November 7, 2017
According to Brian Davis of the Austin American-Statesman, Hill will remain on the roster and continue practicing with the team.
In what’s become a breakout campaign for the Houston native, Hill is second on the team with 51 total tackles. Hill has also recorded two interceptions, both of which were returned for touchdowns.
Although DeShon Elliott has received praise as a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, it’s been Hill who has emerged as the Longhorns best defensive back this season. Along with largely locking down top pass-catching option of opponents, Hill has broken up six passes and was recently been projected as a first-round NFL Draft pick by Bleacher Report.
Junior Davante Davis is the most likely replacement for Hill, but hasn’t played much in the last two seasons after falling out of favor with the previous staff and failing to out-perform Hill and fellow junior Kris Boyd. The Florida native did start against USC, totaling two of his three tackles on the season in that game.
This story will be updated.