SAN ANTONIO — Texas confirmed to Horns247.com that Longhorns' linebackers David Gbenda and Byron Vaughns won’t play in the Valero Alamo Bowl Tuesday night against No. 11 Utah and have been sent home from San Antonio for a violation of team rules.

Vaughns is a redshirt freshman from Fort Worth Eastern Hills who played in 10 games this season with 14 tackles and a forced fumble. Gbenda, a true freshman from Katy Cinco Ranch, played in four games this season, including a start at middle linebacker against Kansas, with one tackle after briefly moving to running back.

The rules violations weren't disclosed.

Tom Herman met with the media at 11 am CT Monday in a joint Alamo Bowl press conference with Utah coach Kyle Whittingham but made no mention of the suspensions involving Vaughns and Gbenda. Texas later confirmed the suspensions to Horns247 before releasing a statement to the media.

Gbenda, who is redshirting this season, wasn't likely to play in the Alamo Bowl after having played in the redshirt allowable maximum of four games. But Vaughns' absence impacts the Longhorns' depth at linebacker for Tuesday night's game against the Utes. Vaughns was also a mainstay on the Longhorns' special teams, posting the second-most special teams tackles this season (four) behind sophomore safety Montrell Estell (seven).

Texas is currently without a linebackers coach. Former defensive coordinator Todd Orlando served that role. Orlando was fired on Dec. 1 by Herman, who elevated former Iowa State linebacker Jeremiah George, an analyst on the Texas staff this season, to interim linebackers coach through the bowl game. Herman has announced former Rutgers coach and former Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash will be the Longhorns' new defensive coordinator.

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On Sunday, Herman announced Ohio State quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Mike Yurcich will be replacing Tim Beck as the Longhorns' new offensive coordinator. Beck, who is serving as quarterbacks coach through the Alamo Bowl, will be moving on to a new opportunity after the season, sources told Horns247.

The suspensions obviously raise a question about how focused the Longhorns might be for their Alamo Bowl matchup with Utah. Players and coaches on both teams have been asked in the past few days about their motivation considering Texas finished the regular season a disappointing 7-5 after last year's 10-4 record. And Utah is coming off a loss to Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game that likely cost the Utes a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Both Herman and Whittingham pointed to all of their draft-eligible seniors being in the lineup for Tuesday night's game as a sign that the game is important to their players. But Herman said some of his younger players need to appreciate what it takes to have successful seasons that end in a bowl game.

"Probably this (7-5) season - maybe on some levels - needed to happen for some of those guys to realize that 10, 11, 12 wins, really cool bowl games, don't just happen," Herman said. "They're a product of really hard work, great relationships within the locker room, everybody kind of pulling in the same direction."