Notes to know for No. 12 Texas vs. Rice

Complied by Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer

AUSTIN, Texas – Notes and need-to-know info on the Texas roster as the No. 12 Longhorns prepare to square off against winless Rice on Saturday at NRG Stadium in Houston:

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• WR Collin Johnson’s participation on Saturday will be a game-time decision.

“He said his hamstring was hurting, and you know we got to be smart with it because we’re going to need him all season,” Texas head coach Tom Herman said Thursday. “I know he really wants to play, so he’s traveling, we’re going to assume he’s playing and see how the next 48 hours go.”

• S B.J. Foster will not play Saturday, after suffering a hamstring injury late in the loss to LSU.

“B.J.’s return is to be determined,” Herman said. “He got a PRP injection, and he’s responding well. The good thing is we’ve got the bye week after next week so I think we’ll see. I would imagine his unavailability wouldn’t go past the bye week. Next week? Who knows.”

• S DeMarvion Overshown will not play in the game. He had a stress reaction in the vertebrae in his back.

“I know that sounds really bad but from what I’ve been told is week to week,” Texas coach Tom Herman said. “And what that means is it’s inflamed and we’re glad we caught it early.

• RB Danny Young will likely play against Rice after making a quicker than expected rehab from an ankle injury.

“Danny practiced limited on Wednesday and went out there Thursday and ran around looking good,” Herman said. “Obviously he’s a bit rusty. So I don’t know how much he’ll play but we’re assuming we’ll probably get in some. It would be a two-man rotation with Keaontay (Ingram) and Roschon Johnson at running back and then, if needed, Danny. He’s looked good the last couple days so we wouldn’t hesitate to put in men if needed.”

• Saturday’s game will mark Texas’s sixth contest in an NFL stadium since the start of the 2017 season. It will be the Longhorns’ second game at NRG Stadium during that stretch.

• QB Sam Ehlinger has thrown 31 touchdowns to only three interceptions over his last 15 games. Texas is 11-4 during that stretch, with five wins over ranked opponents. He threw for a career-high 401 yards against No. 6 LSU last week and was the first quarterback to pass for more than 400 yards against the Tigers since West Virginia’s Geno Smith racked up 463 yards in 2011.

• DL Malcolm Roach made his 13th career start and 36th career appearance for Texas against LSU on Sept. 7. He has logged five total tackles and one tackle for loss so far in 2019, but his impact has been felt far beyond the final statistics.

• LB Joseph Ossai has recorded an interception in each of the Longhorns’ first two games of the 2019 season. He also recorded his first sack of the year — and second of his career — against LSU.

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