The University of Texas announced this morning that Garrett Gilbert, the Longhorn's besieged quarterback, underwent surgery this morning to repair an injury to his right throwing shoulder.

According to a UT press release, a recent MRI revealed the injury and Gilbert underwent successful surgery on Tuesday morning. Gilbert will be out for the remainder of the season, but is expected to make a full recovery.

“The injury appeared to occur during the Rice game,” said Texas Head Athletic Trainer for Football Kenny Boyd. “He had symptoms, but was not affected in practice leading up to BYU. After that, it got progressively worse. We did an MRI on the shoulder last week, and after our medical staff looked at the results, we recommended that he have surgery. He spent some time talking with his family and they agreed that was the route they wanted to go.”

“My shoulder was getting progressively worse and when the doctors did an MRI last week, their recommendation was for me to get it fixed,” Gilbert said. “That’s why I decided to have the surgery now, so I can get it taken care of, start my rehab and be healthy and ready to go for next year. I’m disappointed that I won’t be able to play the rest of this year, but I’ll be out there helping [Co-Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks] Coach [Bryan] Harsin and the quarterbacks as much as I can.”

Gilbert lost his starting job last week after having poor starts in each of the first two games this season, including two interceptions in the first quarter against BYU. The Lake Travis High School alum entered Texas as one of the most highly touted high school quarterbacks in Texas history, but Gilbert did not live up to that hype. He started in 14 games for the Longhorns, including all 12 in the meltdown that was last season's 5-7 record. Certainly this will have fans wondering if the injury affected his ability to throw the football in that game against BYU.

“We’re disappointed for Garrett that he won’t be able to help us on the field the rest of this season,” said Head Coach Mack Brown. “He’s a tough kid that fought through some pain to continue to play, but when doctors told him the injury was something that needed to be taken care of, we fully supported him in doing that. We also know that Garrett is a very smart kid with a great understanding of our offense, so we’re excited that he’ll still be around to help Coach Harsin and our young quarterbacks. He will continue to be a great leader for us helping those guys throughout the season. With his work ethic and determination, we know he’ll get his shoulder back to full strength as soon as possible.”

Gilbert will have at least one season of eligibility left when he returns next year. The die had already been cast for Gilbert this season as Case McCoy took over as the starter against UCLA last weekend and impressed. McCoy threw an incredibly accurate ball completing 12 of 15 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman back-up (or co-starter according to the Texas depth chart) David Ash shows a great arm and running ability, so the Texas quarterback situation is set.