We're one week out from Notre Dame game week, and the Longhorns are still missing a couple key components from their starting offensive line. I checked around today to get a couple updates and while I'm told right tackle Tristan Nickelson and center Zach Shackelford continue to be held out of action, it does sound like both players are making steady progress.
Nickelson, who suffered an ankle injury last week, is no longer in a boot and has begun to move around some. He's participating in non-contact drills and should be back to full speed sometime this week, assuming there are no setbacks. Getting Nickelson back to 100 percent will be big since we continue to hear he was locked in as the starter prior to the injury. Nickelson turned in a terrific off-season and is the only current right tackle candidate with any experience, which could play a key role against Notre Dame. We'll keep you all posted if we hear anything new, but expect Nickelson to be fine for the opener.
The situation with Shackelford is a little more up in the air, but we were told by a source today that ankle situation for the freshman center has improved. Shackelford is still not working out with the team in practices and I have not heard of any firm timetable on when he's expected back, but one person I spoke with today said the hope is that he'll be available to resume practices next week, when the team begins to really dial in its focus for the season opener.
Any time you're dealing with ankle injuries there's always a chance of re-aggravation, so we'll continue to monitor these two situations but if things continue to progress well, the expectation is that both will be ready by next week and have enough time to prepare for the Notre Dame game. Assuming both are healthy, they are both expected to slide right back into their starters' roles.
Nickelson, who suffered an ankle injury last week, is no longer in a boot and has begun to move around some. He's participating in non-contact drills and should be back to full speed sometime this week, assuming there are no setbacks. Getting Nickelson back to 100 percent will be big since we continue to hear he was locked in as the starter prior to the injury. Nickelson turned in a terrific off-season and is the only current right tackle candidate with any experience, which could play a key role against Notre Dame. We'll keep you all posted if we hear anything new, but expect Nickelson to be fine for the opener.
The situation with Shackelford is a little more up in the air, but we were told by a source today that ankle situation for the freshman center has improved. Shackelford is still not working out with the team in practices and I have not heard of any firm timetable on when he's expected back, but one person I spoke with today said the hope is that he'll be available to resume practices next week, when the team begins to really dial in its focus for the season opener.
Any time you're dealing with ankle injuries there's always a chance of re-aggravation, so we'll continue to monitor these two situations but if things continue to progress well, the expectation is that both will be ready by next week and have enough time to prepare for the Notre Dame game. Assuming both are healthy, they are both expected to slide right back into their starters' roles.
