Kansas linebacker Marcquis Roberts (5) chases down Texas Tech running back Justin Stockton (4) after a catch during the first quarter on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.

While key Kansas football seniors such as safety Fish Smithson, right tackle D’Andre Banks, running back Ke’aun Kinner and others play their final game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday against Texas, two key defensive players will not get that same opportunity.

KU head coach David Beaty announced Tuesday at his weekly press conference neither would-be starting linebacker Marcquis Roberts nor defensive end Anthony Olobia — both seniors — would be available, due to injuries.

Roberts missed the Jayhawks’ home loss to Iowa State after suffering some shoulder damage a week earlier at West Virginia. Olobia played in the 31-24 setback to the Cyclones, but left the field with the help of training staff following a second-quarter tackle. Beaty said Olobia, a 6-foot-5 defensive lineman from Renton, Wash., tore an Achilles tendon on the play and had surgery to repair it Tuesday.

Along with Olobia’s season-ending affliction, the head coach doesn’t expect Roberts to return to the lineup, either. Beaty called the situations for both Roberts and Olobia “sad,” given the timing, with just two games remaining in their college careers.

Kansas head coach David Beaty pulls Kansas defensive end Anthony Olobia (35) from the field after Olobia was ejected from the game for targeting on a hit during the second quarter on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.

Playing in just eight games this season — his second at Kansas after transferring from South Carolina — Roberts currently ranks sixth on the team in total tackles, with 35. The 6-foot-1 senior from Marietta, Ga., had 6.5 tackles for loss, one sack, four pass breakups and one quarterback hurry in his final year with the Jayhawks.

Olobia, a second-string end who started the first two games of the season, made 14 total tackles, one sack and had a quarterback hurry.

“It’s just that time of year,” Beaty said of the injury consequences that come with a violent sport. “Everybody’s banged up all over the place. You look at Texas and one of their really, really good linebackers (sophomore Malik Jefferson) is in concussion protocol. … All of us are going through it. Sometimes it’s about who stays the most healthy, you know? And, man, it’s important for everybody.”

Entering the season, coordinator Clint Bowen considered the defense’s depth a concern. At that point, Olobia, Roberts and junior linebacker Joe Dineen were first-stringers. Dineen’s season ended with a Week 3 hamstring injury at Memphis. Now the Jayhawks (1-9 overall, 0-7 Big 12) are without both No. 1 linebackers and a backup defensive end.

“Those are guys that are capable players for us and have done a lot of things for us,” Bowen said. “So to lose ’em, it’s a dumb statement to say it doesn’t affect you in some way, because those are good players that aren’t playing for you that could be making some plays. But the guys who’ve stepped up have done a nice job and will continue on — there’s no choice.”

Senior linebacker Courtney Arnick has started the seven games since Dineen got hurt, and sophomore linebacker Keith Loneker Jr. should replace Roberts in the starting lineup, as he did against TCU and Iowa State.

Bowen didn’t use the injuries as an excuse, calling dealing with them “reality,” but the coach didn’t run from the idea KU will miss the impact the unavailable defenders could’ve made.

“Of course, Roberts has played a lot of football, and with him playing that many snaps, there’s things in the game where you self-correct a problem. You understand something, you see it a step faster. He’s a little bit more physical, a bigger body out there,” Bowen said. “Dineen had the ability to make plays. Dineen was a guy who could make a special play. And you know how big those are, when a guy can do something out of the norm.”

While Kansas might not have asked as much of Olobia from a production standpoint, Bowen explained not having him around forces sophomore defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr. and senior end Damani Mosby to stay in the game for more snaps.

“There’s a cumulative effect on the fatigue when you don’t get your every third set to take a few plays off,” Bowen said.

The injury to Olobia also means senior Cameron Rosser and true freshman Isaiah Bean should play more.

“That’s what depth’s all about,” Bowen said, “and why it’s such a great thing to have — to keep guys fresh and to keep them going throughout the game.”

More injury updates

Junior tight end Ben Johnson also missed the Iowa State game with an unspecified injury. Beaty said he doesn’t know whether Johnson, a 6-foot-5 target from Basehor, will be able to play against Texas (5-5, 3-4), but seemed to lean more toward doubtful of the tight end’s availability.

“We’re holding out hope that maybe the last week,” Beaty said of Johnson playing against Kansas State Nov. 26, in Manhattan.

Though running back Kinner missed most of the fourth quarter versus ISU with bruised ribs, Beaty said the senior who ran for 152 yards this past Saturday looked good at Monday’s practice.

“We really need him to be OK,” Beaty said. “He ran well the other night.”