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A source with knowledge of the situation tells Horns247 that projected starting right tackle Tristan Nickelson suffered an ankle injury during Tuesday’s Texas practice, the 12th of the preseason.

The 6-foot-9, 322-pound junior was rolled up on during a drill, the source said. Nickelson was evaluated yesterday and is expected to be evaluated today before determining exactly how long he’ll be out.

The good news is the source said Nickelson’s injury is similar to the ankle injury suffered by projected starting center Zach Shackelford prior to last weekend’s scrimmage. That means, like Shackelford, Nickelson is likely to be back in the lineup for the Sept. 4 season opener against Notre Dame.

A product of League City Clear Falls who spent one season at Navarro College after spending one year at Fork Union Military Academy, Nickelson started three games in 2015. He made his first start at right tackle in Texas’ 24-17 victory over Oklahoma in the AT&T Red River Showdown and also made starts in home games against Kansas and Texas Tech, taking the field in each of the last nine games of his first season on the Forty Acres.

Nickelson made major strides during the offseason, filling out his upper body and improving his footwork. Sources have indicated that Nickelson hasn’t done anything to lose his grip on the starting right tackle job, even though true freshmen Denzel Okafor and Patrick Hudson have been pushing him during practice.

Offensive line coach Matt Mattox praised Nickelson’s efforts regarding what he did over the summer to get himself in a position to claim a starting job during fall camp.

“He’s a beast,” Mattox said. “The thing you love about Tristan is his mindset that he’s not going to get beat. That’s how he attacks it.

“He’s gotten his body right and we had exit meetings in the spring about what he needed to get done in the summer and he did a great,” he added. “Again, it goes back to the mental approach of not wanting to get beat.”

With Nickelson out of the lineup for an undetermined amount of time, Okafor (6-3, 302) is likely to get reps with the first group at right tackle.

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