Texas S BJ Foster fractured his hand punching his car

Texas Longhorns junior safety BJ Foster is dealing with another injury during the offseason after he fractured his hand in a self-induced accident.

“B.J. Foster fractured the fifth metacarpal in his hand,” Texas head coach Tom Herman said on Thursday. “He got in a fight with a car bumper after he came out to a parking lot and his car bumper was dinged up and nobody left a note. He got a little angry and decided he was going to take it out on the car bumper. We had a long conversation on that. Every time, in my 45 years on a planet, when a player gets in a fight with an inanimate object, usually the inanimate object wins.”

Foster will have to wear a cast on his hand when voluntarily workouts start next week, but Herman said that he’ll be able to run and lift weights, so the injury isn’t expected to impact a key junior season for Foster. In 2019, he suffered a shoulder injury early in the year that required offseason surgery and struggled as a tackler as a result.

After finishing with 46 tackles and nine tackles for loss as a freshman mostly playing the Joker position, Foster only accounted for 34 tackles and four tackles for loss, didn’t have the same impact in coverage, and didn’t force any fumbles after forcing two in 2018.

So if getting healthy is the first challenge for Foster, the second challenge is just as important — new defensive coordinator Chris Ash figuring out how to use a safety who has played his best football in the box during his career so far.

Redshirt freshman defensive end Peter Mpagi is still having tests and lab work done on the heart condition that caused several hospitalizations last year. Herman does not expect him to play this season.

Redshirt freshman running back Derrian Brown underwent surgery recently on his skull following the stroke that he suffered in early in 2019. Herman does not expect him to play this season, either.