Shane Buechele Injury: Texas QB Leaves Game vs. California

Texas Longhorns freshman quarterback Shane Buechele left Saturday’s game against the California Golden Bears after taking a big hit.

The Texas Longhorns are off to a great start this season thanks to the help of true freshman quarterback Shane Buechele. However, the Longhorns could be without Buechele for an extended period of time after Saturday night.

Buechele was trying to help lead the Longhorns to their third consecutive win to start the season on Saturday against the California Golden Bears. However, in the first quarter, the true freshman QB took a huge hit from a defender and was forced to leave the game.

UPDATE: Buechele has returned to the game.

—End of update—

The Texas Football Twitter account announced that Buechele had left the game due to a chest injury. However, the team did not announce the severity of the injury or whether or not he would return to the game, although it didn’t seem like he would be coming back.

For a freshman that’s just 6’1” and 191 pounds, Buechele has looked like the real deal to start his college career in Texas. The 18 year old had thrown for 524 yards and six touchdowns with just one interception while adding another score on the ground in his first two games. His completion percentage of over 70 percent was also impressive.

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Replacing Buechele in Saturday’s game was Tyrone Swoopes, also known as the 18 Wheeler. Swoopes had primarily been used as a running quarterback to replace Buechele in certain situations. His three rushing touchdowns in the season opener against Notre Dame, including the game-winner, helped lead the Longhorns to victory.

As long as Buechele is out, Swoopes will need to step up and lead his team if the Longhorns want to have a shot at making the College Football Playoff.