Texas’ secondary took a hit Saturday against Mississippi State, with two starting defensive backs leaving the game before halftime and not returning.
Sophomore nickel cornerback Graceson Littleton was the first to go down, limping off with 1:11 left in the first quarter after what looked like a rolled-up leg on a tackle by Jelani McDonald. The play came after Mississippi State’s Fluff Bothwell caught an 8-yard pass on third-and-6 from the Texas 38. At that point, the Longhorns were ahead 7-0.
Littleton was checked by Texas trainers and later could be seen on the sideline without his helmet, appearing to test the injured lower leg while trying to put weight on it. He had one tackle before exiting.
Just before halftime, starting cornerback Kade Phillips also left with an apparent injury after recording four tackles. Neither Phillips nor Littleton came back out for the second half.
Texas had already been dealing with a major absence in the secondary, with starting DE Colin Simmons out after suffering a high-ankle sprain against Florida on Oct. 17. Simmons leads the nation with 10.5 sacks and 16.0 tackles for loss.
The Longhorns had to reshuffle on the fly after Littleton went out. Bo Mascoe slid from corner to nickel, Warren Roberson came in at corner, and when Phillips exited, freshman Samari Matthews took his place.
Littleton entered the game with 27 tackles, five pass breakups, one interception and one fumble recovery for a touchdown against Texas State. He had started every game at nickel cornerback this season and had played 410 of a possible 476 defensive snaps.
Phillips had also started every game for Texas and came in with 30 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and two pass breakups in 424 defensive snaps.
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