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Texas football: What's next for Christian Jones?

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•07/06/22•

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Christian Jones (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Texas offensive lineman Christian Jones spent the entire 2021 season at left tackle. That’s unlikely to continue in 2022, but that doesn’t necessarily mean his destination is the bench.

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Nine of Jones’ ten starts in 2020 were at right tackle, with the regular season finale at Kansas State serving as his only start at left tackle. His time protecting the blindside would not last long as injury forced him back to the right side at the beginning of the second half of the Longhorns’ drubbing of K-State.

After strong performances during 2021 spring drills and preseason camp under first-year head coach Steve Sarkisian, Jones won the left tackle role over Andrej Karic and hoped to parlay a quality camp into a breakout junior season.

It didn’t shake out that way. Jones was part of a line that was erratic all season. In October during Texas’ six-game losing streak, Sarkisian would rotate Jones and Karic mid-game as part of “healthy competition.” In reality, Sarkisian was seeing if either Jones or Karic could step up and take control of the position. Neither lineman managed to do so.

Those two were the main options for Sarkisian and offensive line coach Kyle Flood on the blindside considering senior Derek Kerstetter remained at right tackle for most of the 2021 season. No other tackle candidate was deemed reliable enough to become involved in the left tackle battle, even with underwhelming results from Jones and Karic.

Rather than try Jones at left tackle again ahead of next season, Sarkisian moved Jones back to right tackle in April due to more comfort at the position for the Cypress (Texas) Cy-Woods product.

Advanced stats back Sarkisian’s decision. According to PFF College, Jones played 689 snaps at left tackle in 2021 and had an average run blocking grade of 62.1. However, his pass blocking average was a meager 48.3, including two sub-15.0 games versus Oklahoma and Iowa State. His overall 2021 offensive average grade was 56.4.

In 662 snaps in the 2020 regular season, 628 of them at right tackle, Jones received an average pass blocking grade from PFF of 59.3, an average run blocking grade of 70.6, and an overall average of 64.7.

Grades are always subjective in some form or fashion, but that’s a significant difference in average figures. Plus, the worst of Jones’ performances in 2020 were nowhere near as dismal as the 2021 games versus the Sooners and Cyclones.

On-field data isn’t the only thing factoring into Sarkisian’s decision. A lot of highly-rated talent from the Longhorns’ 2022 classed joined the offensive line room at the beginning of the summer, with Kelvin Banks leading the way. Banks was the No. 6 prospect in On3’s rankings, the No. 1 tackle, and the No. 1 prospect in Texas.

Sarkisian raved about Banks’ potential when speaking with fans and alumni in May, saying he believes the Humble (Texas) Summer Creek lineman has the potential to be a top five NFL draft pick at left tackle.

Banks is set to compete at left tackle, but other members of his signing class arrived on campus also intending to earn a spot on the starting five. Players like Neto Umeozulu, Cam Williams, Devon Campbell, and Malik Agbo signed with Texas knowing the opportunity to play right away existed.

Those are a few of the players vying with Jones for the right tackle spot in the pre-season, not to mention Karic and Hayden Conner.

Competing for a starting spot with talented underclassmen pushing him is a challenge Jones hasn’t faced during his time at Texas, but he’ll be in a role far more conducive to his success when the battle begins in earnest.

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