Texas OL Darius James suffers knee injury in practice

Just when it seemed like the Texas Longhorns might go several weeks without any major injuries, news broke on Friday that redshirt freshman offensive lineman Darius James suffered a knee injury in practice this week, according to multiple reports.

The school is still awaiting the results of an MRI to determine how much time James will miss, but there's already a report out there that he's done for the season.

If James has suffered a tear of any ligaments, he could miss significant time, including spring practice and likely part of the 2014 season, a major blow for a lineman who is considered critical to future success in the trenches.

And if James is out for the rest of the season, it would leave the Horns with only six offensive linemen in the rotation, with redshirt freshman Jake Raulerson capable of filling in at a number of different spots.

Offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Joe Wickline hasn't been substituting much along the line this season, in large part because of depth issues, but losing James would leave Texas unable to deal with any further injuries before suffering another drop off in play.

There aren't many options from the 2014 class, either, as Texas took three offensive linemen, but center Terrell Cuney is still much too undersized to play, leaving guards Alex Anderson and Elijah Rodriguez as the only possibilities to step in if necessary. Defensive tackle Jake McMillon also moved to guard during the fall.