Texas S Brandon Jones will miss spring practice after undergoing ankle surgery

When the Texas Longhorns start spring practice on March 11, Texas Longhorns senior safety Brandon Jones won’t be going through drills in shorts with his teammates after undergoing successful ankle surgery on Tuesday, according to Anwar Richardson of Orangebloods:

In fact, as the tweet indicates, the team’s returning leading tackler will miss spring practice. Jones suffered the high ankle sprain that eventually required surgery on a punt return against Maryland in the 2018 season opener when he was tackled by his uniform collar.

The school confirmed Richardson’s report on Wednesday evening.

Jones missed the Tulsa game before returning against USC and flashing his speed in making a goal-line stop on fourth down when he ranged all the way to the sideline to make the play. However, Jones wasn’t able to remain healthy — he re-injured the ankle during a freak accident before the West Virginia game, eventually sitting out against Texas Tech and Iowa State, too.

After the Sugar Bowl win over Georgia, Jones elected to return to school for his senior season, perhaps in part because of his ankle. The draft stock of Jones simply wasn’t high enough after missing four games and struggling with his ball skills to survive missing the NFL Combine and the Texas Pro Day.

Missing spring practice will mean for reps for players like sophomore DeMarvion Overshown, sophomore BJ Foster, and especially redshirt freshman Montrell Estell, a player who needs to prove that he hasn’t been recruited over completely after dealing with injuries last year.