Texas TE Andrew Beck breaks foot, will miss at least 6-8 weeks

In a major blow to the Texas Longhorns offense, tight end Andrew Beck fractured his foot in practice on Wednesday.

It’s not entirely clear how much time Beck is expected to miss, as the training staff is reportedly going over treatment options. The tight end was dealing with foot issues throughout the offseason, as he broke the same foot in February and miss time in spring ball. But Beck was since cleared to practice and was believed to be entirely healthy.

Andrew Beck only has 12 career catches, but Tom Herman is known to use a tight end extensively, and Beck was the projected starter at a position that has very little depth for the Longhorns.

Herman’s other options are limited. He’s suspended freshman Reese Leitao for the team’s first two games after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor drug possession and Syracuse graduate transfer Kendall Moore caught one pass last season. Meantime in April, redshirt freshman Peyton Aucoin announced his plans to transfer from the program.

Herman said Wednesday he may avoid using at tight end until he feels comfortable with his options, saying, “It’s important on offense to get your best 11 guys on the field and figure out a way to make sure you’re doing that without straying too far from your core beliefs of what you want to be on offense. We want to play with a tight end, but we’re not going to be so bullheaded to say that if the tight end is not one of our 11 best players that we’re going to put him out there just because we want a tight end.”