Steve Sarkisian: Bye week came at a good time for the Texas offensive line

Texas was on bye last week, and the bye came at a great time for the offensive line, per Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. Many players on offensive line have been beaten up throughout the season, so getting a week off to recover could prove to be huge for Texas.

Earlier in the week, Sarkisian spoke to reporters about the state of Texas on the offensive line. With some injuries and other issues piling up as they do in a college football season, younger players have been able to step into bigger roles. That experience will be valuable moving forward. Especially now that the bye week has given another week to learn and recover.

“Well I think getting Derek (Kerstetter) back was a really good move for us,” Sarkisian said of the offensive line. “I think that having some competition at left tackle has been good for Christian (Jones) and Andrej (Karic). I think Junior (Angilau), he needed the week kind of physically to get his body back right. I think Jake (Majors) needed the week to get his body back right.

“Obviously it’s a really good opportunity for Tope (Imade). I thought he, there was a couple plays, you know a guy first time really starting that he’d love to have back. He didn’t need tor each out and grab the guy that he got the hold on. He was in good position,” Sarkisian said. “Just let him come to him. So, those are all kind of some of the learning curve that you get when you play.”

Sarkisian: Texas needs to be “sound” on the offensive line vs. Baylor

When Texas takes on Baylor Saturday, Sarkisian said that a strong performance from the offensive line will be needed. Baylor has a talented defensive front and plenty of talent on both sides of the ball.

“But in the end, whatever we do run wise and protection wise, making sure those guys are in the right kind of position to have success. And we’re going to need it this week,” said Sarkisian. “Really good defensive front. Their nose tackle is a disruptive guy, causes problems. They’re really good on the edge so we need to play a really sound football game up front this week.”

Texas and Baylor will kick off at 12 noon ET on Saturday. The Longhorns again hit the road next week for a trip to take on Iowa State.