Texas receiver Jordan Whittington practices in non-contact jersey

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•08/14/23
What's the pulse of Texas Longhorn Football? | Is this THE YEAR for Steve Sarkisian and Quinn Ewers?

One of Texas‘ top offensive weapons has been limited in practice, with receiver Jordan Whittington spotted in a green non-contact jersey on Monday afternoon.

That news came courtesy of a report from The Football Braniacs’ CJ Vogel.

It’s unclear if Whittington suffered an injury or the move is precautionary as fall camp continues. But it’ll certainly be a situation worth monitoring going forward.

Jordan Whittington has a considerable amount of production, logging 99 career catches for 1,252 yards and four touchdowns. He finished second on the team in receiving a year ago with 50 catches for 652 yards and a touchdown.

The Texas offense will be looking to pick up where it left off in 2022, when it finished 24th in scoring offense (34.5 points per game) and 34th in total offense (429.5 yards per game).

Quarterback Quinn Ewers is back, as is top target Xavier Worthy. But Jordan Whittington is an important piece of the puzzle, too, so his health status will be important as fall camp continues on. After last season saw Texas playmakers sidelined with injuries; all eyes will be on their health heading into the 2023 season. If they can stay fully healthy, Ewers will have plenty of options in which to deliver the ball.

AD Mitchell can help pick up slack for Jordan Whittington

One player who could help fill the void if Whittington ends up missing any game time is Georgia transfer AD Mitchell.

Mitchell came in after winning back-to-back national titles with the Bulldogs, so he’s got some experience around winning programs and getting it done at a high level.

“I’ve been proud of AD. I’ve seen a different AD Mitchell today than I saw in spring ball,” coach Steve Sarkisian said.

“Naturally, he came into spring ball off of the national championship. There’s probably a little fatigue. That was a long season for them. He had the ankle thing from last season that kind of lingered. But I really saw the shift in about the middle of summer. He made a conscious effort to make the change in how he wanted to play and what we were asking of him. From about mid-early July? There’s been a shift in him that he’s been carrying here through training camp.”

Texas opens the 2023 season on Sept. 2 with a home game against Rice. A road trip to No. 4 Alabama looms in Week 2.