Texas suspends OTs Desmond Harrison and Kennedy Estelle for BYU game

On the heels of widespread reports that the Texas Longhorns had dismissed senior offensive tackle Desmond Harrison and junior offensive tackle Kennedy Estelle, the school revealed that the two have been suspended for violating team rules.

There's also a report out there that the two players failed a drug test that was administered on Wednesday, a report that makes sense given reports back in July that the players who were dismissed from the team after Big 12 Media Days had also failed a drug test.

Multiple outlets reported earlier on Wednesday evening that Estelle and Harrison had been dismissed from the team entirely.

Harrison, especially, had been on thin ice with the new coaching staff -- he had just been reinstated on Monday after missing the North Texas game for a violation of team rules.

Estelle had reportedly been one of players under review by the coaching staff back at the end of July when the other dismissals became public.

The junior from Pearland Dawson had also been suspended for the Alamo Bowl against Oregon because he was academically ineligible.

Following the loss of senior center Dominic Espinosa last Saturday to a fractured right ankle, the Horns were set to feature a combined 13 career starts on Saturday against BYU, with Estelle holding nine of those.

The most experienced starter for Texas, if the reports are true, is junior offensive guard Sedrick Flowers, who started his second career game against North Texas in the season opener.

And so the Horns will be extremely thin at tackle against BYU and possible longer.

Sophomore Kent Perkins can play outside, but started at guard during the opener, along with junior Marcus Hutchins, one of the most surprising stories of fall camp after he earned the start at left tackle against North Texas weeks after moving back to the offensive side of the ball from defensive tackle, where he had failed to crack the depth chart.

Redshirt freshman Jake Raulerson also spent some time at tackle during fall camp, but he's now the starter at Texas, leaving sophomore Camrhon Hughes and true freshman Elijah Rodriguez as the only two true tackles left to back up the prospective starters, though redshirt freshman Darius James has also played tackle, along with his natural position of guard.

The worst-case long-term scenario for Texas did not come true on Wednesday evening, but it seems clear that both players are close to losing their opportunity to play for the Horns.