Senior offensive lineman Derek Kerstetter did not miss the singing of “Texas Fight” in celebration of Saturday’s 69-31 victory over Kansas State despite dislocating his ankle in the second quarter.
Sam Ehlinger, Texas’ quarterback, was sacked by defensive end Wyatt Hubert in the second quarter as Texas attempted to increase its 31-10 advantage on a second-and-5 play from Kansas State’s 11-yard line. Hubert pursued Ehlinger after eluding rookie left tackle Christian Jones, but he clipped Kerstetter’s left leg as he did so.
It was clear that Kerstetter was in pain as soon as he hit the ground. He was eventually hauled off and brought with his parents to a local hospital after a protracted delay.
This week, Kerstetter battled an ankle issue to make his 37th career start. The versatile lineman started eight times at center this season, but on Saturday switched to right tackle as Texas rearranged its line after left tackle Samuel Cosmi elected to forego playing in the remaining games for UT.
According to UT coach Tom Herman, Kerstetter would be permitted to fly back to Austin with his teammates. After visiting the hospital, the lineman made it back to the stadium in time to lead the players in “Texas Fight.”
Herman described it as “tear-jerking” in the least.
The Longhorns were undoubtedly affected by seeing an injured Kerstetter. Cosmi asked for prayers for his longtime buddy and roommate on Twitter. The majority of players left the field to comfort the senior captain as he was being carried into a cart. Two plays later, Texas missed a short field goal.
Ehlinger remarked, “I suppose at first we were all a little rattled. “Everyone was kind of like, whoa, what just happened? when we entered at halftime. We came to the conclusion that Derek wouldn’t want us to play that way; he would rather we go out and triumph for him. I believe we changed the situation and began to play for him.
Texas shifted Denzel Okafor over from right guard to replace Kerstetter. In the second half, Jones, who usually starts at right tackle, returned to that spot. Texas was able to give Andrej Karic plenty of left tackle practice time by moving Jones.
Freshmen Karic and Jake Majors both got a lot of time in the trenches during UT’s 608-yard day. Majors started at center for the first time ever. The only true freshmen to start on the line during Herman’s time at UT were he and Kerstetter.
Texas targeting: Linebacker Juwan Mitchell was ejected for targeting for the second time this season, preventing him from finishing a game he started.
While attempting to stop Kansas State quarterback Will Howard on a brief run, he was penalized. On the play, he also collided with teammate Moro Ojomo; Ojomo was hurt but eventually made a comeback.
Mitchell will miss the first half of Kansas’ regular-season finale next week since he was dismissed in the second half. On October 3, he was dismissed from a 33-31 loss to TCU because of a second targeting penalty.
Jerrin Thompson and David Gbenda, two freshmen, recorded their first career interceptions. Jordan Whittington, a redshirt freshman, scored his first touchdown of his career in the third quarter on a 15-yard run. Jared Wiley, a tight end, reinjured his shoulder. UT excluded defensive backs B.J. Foster before the game.
Leave a Reply