Texas WR Jake Smith suffers likely broken foot in first practice

The junior season for Texas Longhorns wide receiver Jake Smith was dealt an unfortunate setback on Tuesday during the first spring practice when Smith suffered what head coach Steve Sarkisian said “sounds like a broken foot.”

The new head coach was not immediately sure how long Smith might be out.

The Arizona product had a promising freshman season with 25 catches for 274 yards and six touchdowns as the primary backup for Devin Duvernay and was expected to play a big role in the offense during the 2020 season.

During preseason camp, however, Smith suffered a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the first two games against UTEP and Texas Tech. The 6’0, 195-pounder was able to return against TCU and caught six passes for 49 yards and a touchdown, but then aggravated his injury and missed the following game against Oklahoma.

When Smith returned, he didn’t play as large a role in the offense as anticipated, catching seven passes for 70 yards and a touchdown in his most prolific performance of the season against Oklahoma State. In the season finale, Smith did not catch a pass in the Alamo Bowl against Colorado, finishing the year with 23 catches for 294 yards and three touchdowns.

Due to Smith’s hamstring injury, he was not able to continue taking reps as an outside receiver. He’ll now lose the opportunity to expand his versatility in that regard if he misses the rest of spring practice and will also lose ground in the competition at slot receiver to other potential inside receivers like sophomore Jordan Whittington and redshirt freshmen Kelvontay Dixon and Dajon Harrison.