AUSTIN, Texas — After the injury bug has plagued the Longhorns throughout the season, Texas is finally expecting some positive news on the injury front just in time for Kansas State to head to town. Head coach Tom Herman confirmed Monday that the Longhorns are expected to have a number of key play makers available for Saturday's 2:30 p.m. CT game against the Wildcats, including several starters on the defensive side of the ball.

On defense, the Longhorns have officially listed sophomore safety B.J. Foster and sophomore safety Caden Sterns as probable, while offensively, true freshman running back Jordan Whittington is also considered probable for Saturday's home game against Kansas State.

"We're going to try like heck to get Jeffrey McCulloch back to practice," Herman said Monday. "He has not practiced. He was on a really good trajectory with the strength in that shoulder, and it didn't quite keep progressing. We think there's a chance to get him into practice by Tuesday or Wednesday.

"B.J. Foster would certainly be probable. DeMarvion Overshown is about like Jeff, but is cleared to practice. He is still a little bit weak in that shoulder, but we are hoping that these next 24-48 hours speeds up. Caden Sterns, I would list as probable. He practiced Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday.

"And Jordan Whittington the same thing: Practiced yesterday and practiced Wednesday and Thursday of last week."

In addition to the guys the head coach named, the defense should have a much healthier version of sophomore cornerback Jalen Green for the Kansas State game. While Green did return to practice and to game action against TCU two weeks ago, it’s likely he may have been a bit rusty since the last time he saw the field was against Oklahoma State on Sept. 21.

The news could be a difference maker for this Texas team, which has struggled over the last several weeks. The potential return of Foster, Sterns, McCulloch and Overshown should only help the defense, which has been forced to rely on a number of backups since the start of Big 12 Conference play.

One player who will be out for a few weeks is sophomore punter Ryan Bujcevski who is out with a broken clavicle, which occurred when he took a shot on a fake punt in the third quarter against TCU.

While Bujcevski’s injury is not season ending, he will be sidelined for a few weeks while he recovers, opening up a punting battle between kicker Cameron Dicker and backup specialist Chris Naggar.

“(Bujcevski’s) not out for the season, so that’s a good thing,” Herman said during the bye week. “I think for a guy who rarely, if ever, gets hit, we can be a little more aggressive with his return to play. It will be a battle between Chris Naggar and (Cameron Dicker).

“I think it will be a two-week battle. The one thing (Dicker) has going for him is he’s been in a bunch of ball games, and has played really, really well in some clutch situations, so that experience will factor into it, for sure.”

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The Longhorns return to the field Saturday when unranked Texas kicks off against No. 20 ranked Kansas State at 2:30 p.m. CT, with live game coverage available on ESPN.