Texas true freshman running back Jordan Whittington will miss the next four to six weeks with a sports hernia, coach Tom Herman said Monday.
Whittington, who was the 40th-ranked overall player in the 2019 ESPN 300, tore the adductor off of his pubic symphysis in the Longhorns' 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech on Saturday. He'll fly to Philadelphia to see a specialist for surgery.
Texas coaches raved about Whittington all offseason, and he was expected to play a significant role for the No. 10 Longhorns. His loss hurts an already thin running back room.
"Your two tailbacks are Keaontay Ingram and [freshman quarterback] Roschon Johnson, who just started learning the position 10 days ago," Herman said.
Ingram, a sophomore, led the team in rushing on Saturday (11 carries, 78 yards) and was second on the team in 2018, with 708 yards on 142 carries. Johnson, a true freshman quarterback who arrived in the spring, started practicing at running back late last month when it was evident the Longhorns were going into the season with multiple injuries at the position. Veteran running backs Kirk Johnson and Daniel Young are both injured and missed Saturday's game.
Johnson had seven carries for 26 yards and two catches for 14 yards playing running back on Saturday after Whittington left the game early. The team has now moved linebacker David Gbenda over to running back to learn the position to give it an additional option.
"I'm glad Roschon was here in the spring for the physical development as well as learning the offense," Herman said. "It's not near the transition that somebody like David Gbenda will be going through. Roschon knew protections. At quarterback, you have to know it all. So he did that and I thought he played really well for the limited minutes that he got. He'll certainly get a lot more this week, though."
Herman also noted that receiver Joshua Moore, who was suspended for the Louisiana Tech game while awaiting a pending court date for a weapons charge, is suspended indefinitely.
"We'll continue to monitor what's going on with him," Herman said. "We're handling the punishment internally but he is still practicing and running with the scout team."
Moore faces misdemeanor gun charges after police arrested him in July while he was carrying a loaded pistol without a license. He has practiced with the team throughout training camp and has a court date scheduled for Sept. 23.
Herman said any decision on when he'll be available will be made in conjunction with multiple people, but primarily athletic director Chris Del Conte.
Moore, who was the No. 45 prospect in the 2018 ESPN 300, caught seven passes for 53 yards last season, including a 27-yard touchdown catch in an early-season win over USC.
Texas hosts No. 6 LSU on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC).