Tom Herman says freshman TE Reese Leitao will serve two-game suspension to start 2017 season

Three-star Texas tight end signee Reese Leitao nearly didn’t make it to campus.

The Jenks (Okla.) product was arrested at his high school in late February and charged with a felony for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of a school after being apprehended with $1,309 and 20 Xanax pills on his person.

Meanwhile, Texas head coach Tom Herman let the legal process run its course and stated that the outcome would determine whether or not Leitao had a future as a Longhorn.

When it was all said and done, Leitao’s felony charged was reduced to a misdemeanor and the potential year-one contributor was allowed to join the Longhorns, but not without serving a two-game suspension to begin the 2017 season, according to Herman during a Big 12 Media Days availability.

The two-game suspension will force Leitao to serve as a spectator when the Herman era gets underway against Maryland on September 2, as well as the following week against San Jose State. Texas is considered the heavy favorite in each of these two matchups.

Leitao will then be able to join the team and begin his career as a Longhorn in Week 3 when Texas heads to California for a 2006 BCS National Championship rematch with USC.