When Brandon Loy, the starting shortstop for the Big 12 Conference champion University of Texas baseball team, went down with a shoulder injury prior to last month’s Big 12 tournament, the burnt-orange diehards began wringing their collective hands in worry.

Who would replace the two-year starter at the most important defensive position? How could the Horns find another infielder with the range and arm of Loy?

But Texas coach Augie Garrido had other worries. He had to find another second baseman.

Garrido, a five-time national champion in his 42 years as a head coach, didn’t hesitate when Loy suffered the injury. He quickly slid former Chap Jordan Etier over from second base to the left side and focused on finding a new second bagger.

“There was no decision,” Garrido said. “We knew that Jordan could handle playing short.”

In his two years at Texas, Etier has handled plenty. The 2008 Westlake graduate started every game in the infield for the University of Texas baseball team this past season. Although the Horns’ march to Omaha ended a game short in a super regional loss to TCU Sunday, the future looks bright for the former Chap. He will return next year as a defensive anchor for the Longhorns – and he’ll bring along plenty of confidence.

“I can play any position they [the Longhorn coaches] want me to play,” he said. “We’ve actually done a lot of work at other spots; the coaches here prepare you for a lot of positions.”

The three games at shortstop in the Big 12 tournament provided a homecoming of sorts for Etier, who played shortstop and third base in his prep career. However, when Garrido convinced Etier to continue a family tradition – two of Etier’s grandparents taught at Texas – and commit to the 40 Acres, he moved Etier to second base.

According to Garrido, Etier may have lacked experience at the position but boasted the necessary tools. The Longhorns’ defense needs a second baseman with the range of a shortstop and the arm to deliver relays from the deep right-center field at Disch-Falk Field.

“The second baseman handles a lot of long relay throws for us,” Garrido said. “Jordan has that kind of arm, and he has the kind of range we need. We thought he’d be a very good second baseman for us.”

Etier’s development at the position has confirmed his coach’s confidence. He boasted a fielding percentage of .985 and led the team in assists with 209, remarkable numbers for a first-year starter at the spot.

“The angles are a lot different at second,” Etier said. “But I’m a lot more comfortable now, compared to the start of the year. I’m getting good reads and jumps off the bat and that gives me better range going right and left.”

The ability to adapt comes as no surprise to Chap fans. At Westlake, Etier became the school’s last athlete to letter in three varsity team sports – football, basketball and baseball. He pitched for the baseball team (Etier threw 16 2/3 innings as a senior) and hit .275 with 27 runs scored despite battling a shoulder injury incurred early in the football season.

During his junior season on the football team, Etier had a 100-yard receiving game and a 100-yard rushing game while helping Westlake reach a state title game. Former Chap football coach Derek Long even toyed with the idea of playing Etier at noseguard after a spate of injuries decimated Westlake’s defensive front.
Such a prep career didn’t surprise Garrido, who says Etier works as hard as anyone in the Texas baseball program.

“I think the biggest adjustment for a high school player is whether or not they can maintain their confidence at the collegiate level,” Garrido said. “If they think they belong here, they do. But if they get caught up in all of the hype and aura of it all, they’ll struggle.

“Jordan handled it very well from the start. He’s an outstanding teammate. He practices hard, plays hard and works extremely hard. He leads by example, and that’s how he has gained respect.”

Etier’s struggles at the plate this season even turned into a strength, said Garrido. He hit .224 and had a team-high 73 strikeouts from the No. 9 spot in the lineup. However, he did contribute nine home runs for a team that set a school record for homers in a season, and he never let his hitting affect his rock-solid glovework.

“He’s struggled through a lot of strikeouts, but he doesn’t get down on himself,” Garrido said. “He’s always cheering on his teammates. I have a lot of respect for him; a lot of people, with lesser character, wouldn’t be as upbeat with some of those struggles [at the plate]. He’s kind of a special guy.”

Etier conceded his struggles with the splinter but saw this season’s propensity for Ks as an aberration rather than a rule.

“I like to hit line drives and put the ball in play, but lately, that’s not what it’s been looking like,” Etier said with a grin. “But they [the hits] will come, I’m pretty confident. I think that I’m adjusting to college pitching pretty well.”

And if such an alteration equals his moves in the infield, opposing pitchers should take heed for 2011.