Texas DB P.J. Locke III underwent surgery on sports hernia, will miss 4-6 weeks

The injury bug continues to bite the Texas Longhorns this offseason as junior nickelback P.J. Locke III underwent surgery on Wednesday for a sports hernia (athletic pubalgia) injury and will be sidelined for the next four-to-six weeks as he rehabs.

As a sophomore, Locke started nine games for the Longhorns and recorded 33 tackles, six passes defended and two interceptions while emerging as a defensive standout towards the end of the season.

Locke has since earned the praise of Tom Herman and his staff on multiple occasions throughout the offseason and looks poised for a breakout junior campaign.

“I love P.J. as a kid, so if something goes down then I can go to him and he's one of those guys that will read our body language,” defensive coordinator Todd Orlando said of Locke via Horns247. “So if he knows that we're upset then he's going to address things with the group. He's been that way since the day I met him. He's explosive when he blitzes, he can cover, and he has a dynamic on film. When we watched him on film, he was probably the most impressive kid, game in and game out. He's a great kid.”

While he’ll be sidelined for the next month or so, Locke is expected to be back at full health and ready for summer workouts and training camp.