The 2021 Big 12 space force rankings: The left tackles
The left tackle position could be decisive in the Big 12 this season. Let me paint a quick scenario for you of the coming season.
Let’s say things go swimmingly in fall camp for Oklahoma (naturally), TCU, Texas, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State. The Horned Frog edge defenders and cornerbacks are on fire and they fill in their linebacker corps and safety well while upgrading at defensive tackle. Pete Kwiatkowski is able to build a strong outside linebacker corps from his transfers and the rest of the Texas defense thrives as a result of having a strong defensive front. Oklahoma State gets improvement from Trace Ford and Brock Martin and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles works out how to play some base dime to cover up his cornerbacks. Iowa State does what everyone expects them to do and Will McDonald is a terror on the edge.
Who’s blocking these five teams? You’d better have a cohesive line and some real quality at offensive tackle if you want to hold up. Here’s how the league is looking at this position.
No. 1: Oklahoma, Wanya Morris/Anton Harrison
This one isn’t quite proving to be the slam dunk we expected earlier in the offseason. Here’s a glimpse at the battle in fall camp for the starting tackle positions:
Wanya Morris, who was a 5-star recruit and a terrific player at Tennessee, was expected to come in and own left tackle. This hasn’t exactly happened and the reasons aren’t totally clear but there’s some questions about whether he’ll be eligible in year one after his transfer from Tennessee. It’s possible Harrison passed him up, he’s a very promising athlete, but they took Morris for a reason and I’m inclined to think they’re giving Harrison those reps in anticipation of Morris not being available
Harris is a freak athlete…
…it’s a matter of translating it to pass protection. He’s 6-foot-5, 317 pounds and has been getting rave reviews from Oklahoma insiders since arriving last fall. Interestingly, rather than playing returning left tackle Erik Swenson on the left or right side, the Sooners are looking at right guard Tyrese Robinson (6-foot-3, 325 pounds) to play the right tackle spot. UCLA transfer Chris Murray (6-foot-1, 301 pounds) would then take over at right guard. Robinson played some right tackle for them in 2019 and held up well, Murray is reportedly a great athlete who couldn’t quite master center but is now freed up to take a job at guard.
Marquis Hayes (6-foot-5, 335 pounds) is back at left guard and sophomore Andrew Raym (6-foot-3, 304 pounds) has them excited at center. This is a much smaller line than in some previous seasons but much more athletic. Pass protection could be a real concern, especially if Morris can’t go, but they’ll figure out run blocking and likely be better than recent seasons on their preferred GT counter play and also outside zone.
No. 2: Texas, Christian Jones/Derek Kerstetter
The Longhorns are losing one of the top tackles in the league in Sam Cosmi, but also regaining one of the top tackles with Derek Kerstetter’s return (super senior) and move outside. After a nice 2019 season in which Texas had really good bookend play from Cosmi and Kerstetter, they slid Kerstetter to center for 2020 where he was less effective.
This lead to Christian Jones starting at right tackle for nearly every game. He had a mixed season, the pass protection was downright terrible at times as the late convert to O-line who played in a Wing-T in high school struggled to master the kick step. The run blocking was downright dominant at times as the 6-foot-6, 320 pound athlete caught and drove defenders. Getting his athleticism and size to translate has been a priority for new offensive line coach Kyle Flood. Meanwhile Kerstetter moves back to right tackle to solidify either edge.
Texas also has sophomore Andrej Karic, a smaller (6-foot-4, 290 pounds) but highly athletic option who played left tackle in the bowl game, as a third tackle off the bench. Kerstetter is pretty capable of playing on an island at times, as is Karic, so if Jones lives up to the expectations of the new staff to serve as the left tackle then Texas will be much better here than expected. The spring game and reports were promising here, he can kick step consistently now and is said to be neck and neck with Kerstetter as the best lineman on campus.
No. 3. Baylor, Connor Galvin
Connor Galvin is one of the league’s elder statesmen at left tackle. He was starting well before the end of his freshman year at Baylor back in 2018 and in the two years since, making him a fourth-year starter in 2021.
The Bears have a new scheme in place now, the wide zone, which plays heavily into their run game (obviously) but also a good deal of their passing game. Presumably the Bears will lean heavily on outside zone fakes and play-action to protect the quarterback when throwing the ball. If they’re using traditional dropback protections regularly it’ll be a terrible sign for the season because it will indicate they aren’t staying ahead of the chains with their base schemes.
I tend to think they won’t be very good on offense, but when they do get in tight spots on third and long at least Galvin gives them a lot of experience and knowhow protecting the left edge. On review, he was quietly very good in 2020, locking down their left side while they ran a TON of dropback passes from empty sets for Charlie Brewer. He’s 6-foot-6, 310 pounds with the right blend of quickness, reach, and pure size. Galvin has always been among the better athletes at the position in the league and now the technique and strength are there as well.
After Galvin, Casey Phillips is still around, another big guy with good athleticism who hasn’t put it all together yet. Then there are some younger guys like Gavin Byers who will need time and development.
No. 4: West Virginia, Brandon Yates
West Virginia opened the year with Junior Uzebu at left tackle, a Dana Holgorsen recruit who was expected to own the job someday. Holgorsen’s West Virginia was low key quite good at finding and developing really good linemen. Uzebu, a 6-foot-5, 302 pound redshirt sophomore, turned out not to be ready and Oklahoma State was eating him alive in the Big 12 opener so they went even younger and inserted Yates.
At about 6-foot-3.5 and 306 pounds, now redshirt sophomore Brandon Yates is a smaller athlete (relatively) who has sweet feet and appears to have the necessary reach to be great. Yates is lightning quick and teams weren’t getting pressure on Jarrett Doege by beating him around the corner from what I’ve observed. It’s possible he’s the best pass protecting left tackle in the entire league this season, his need for growth is in the run game. When he knows where to aim, he gets there with shocking speed and thus power, when he doesn’t he’ll whiff badly.
Aside from Yates the Mountaineers still have Uzebu, prospective starting right guard Parker Moorer (6-foot-4, 308 pounds), but down the line it’ll be blue chip freshman Wyatt Millum who checked in this fall at 6-foot-6, 291 pounds. With their returning players inside and Virginia Tech transfer Doug Nester (6-foot-6, 320 pounds) joining the party, they could make a major leap this season.
No. 5: TCU, Obinna Eze
I think the Horned Frogs sort of broke even with their offseason relationship to left tackle and the transfer portal. They targeted Obinna Eze (6-foot-8, 315 pounds) from Memphis to shore up tackle but then lost their previous transfer tackle T.J. Storment (off to Texas Tech with offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie).
Storment was pretty good in protection and a strong run blocker whereas Eze excels using his basketball frame to block pass-rushers but struggles to get low and get movement as a run blocker. Since TCU is a run-heavy team, this strikes me as at least a touch problematic BUT he will undoubtedly be useful in allowing them to take shots down the field to Quentin Johnston from spread sets. His film at Memphis in pass protection is mixed, at times he was fantastic but against the better edge rushers at Cincinnati he did have some moments where he got whipped.
Andrew Coker was the right tackle for most of 2020 but he was quite ineffective. Brandon Coleman got snaps here and there and looked very promising but had a season-ending injury. Expect Coleman (6-foot-6, 320 pounds) to win the right tackle job and be at the focal point of as much of TCU’s run game as they can manage.
No. 6: Iowa State, Sean Foster/Joey Ramos/Jake Remsburg
Foster played right tackle for the Cyclones a couple of years back before being replaced and relegated to the bench until re-emerging last season as a redshirt senior to lock down left tackle. At 6-foot-8, 325 pound he has a lot of reach and power, the athleticism isn’t going to land him in the NFL but it’s hard to get by or through him because of his size.
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Iowa State was mindful of the need to help him against his one major weak spot, a pure speed rush, and would obstruct the wide path with their tight ends or a chip from the running back. My imprecise read of the other two, Joey Ramos (6-foot-4, 305 pounds) and Jake Remsburg (6-foot-6, 330 pounds) is that Ramos is the better pass protector but Remsburg is an absolute force in the run game.
Since Foster is pretty solid on the left side and it’s easy from their 12 personnel sets to get help to either tackle, I bet they roll with Remsburg over Ramos this season. Down the line Ramos could get in on the action when Foster moves on or they also have a 6-foot-6 South Dakotan named Grant Treiber who could be their truest left tackle some day.
No. 7: Texas Tech, T.J. Storment
Storment was huge for TCU last season once they finally got him on the field, simply by offering capable pass protection where TCU had been truly bad. He’s a massive human, checking in at 6-foot-6, 320 pounds and he knows how to put his mass in front of pass-rushers and is a good drive blocker in the run game.
He has some limited athleticism, you can’t leave him isolated on a topline edge rusher and expect your quarterback to get through a progression, but he’s very capable. Texas Tech did not have great pass protection on the edges last season so his addition is a big boost. Interestingly, the Red Raiders do return both tackles from a year ago Ethan Carde (6-foot-8, 320 pounds) and transfer Josh Burger (6-foot-3, 295 pounds). They predictably slid the athletic but smaller Burger inside to guard to replace Jack Anderson (NFL) and Carde is fighting for the right tackle job with Caleb Rogers (6-foot-5, 290 pound sophomore).
None of their tackles were going to get them high on this list, they have a lot of tall guys who are decently mobile but need a lot of time to add strength and technique to maximize their limited athleticism. Storment, a super senior, is exactly that, so he’ll boost the group while also fitting into their existing aptitude for the power-spread run game.
No. 8: Kansas State, Cooper Beebe/Carver Willis
Beebe is a much better tackle than I expected for a 6-foot-3, 320 pound fireplug. He played a lot of right tackle last season for the Wildcats and was really quite effective due to his quick feet. I don’t know if the reach is great but he’s quick enough to be hard to get around and there’s no going through him. He reminds me of Cody Whitehair, who played left tackle for K-State back in the Snyder days because he was their best lineman even though he’d measure at the combine at 6-foot-4, 301 pounds with 32 ⅜” arms. The Chicago Bears took him in the second round, moved him to guard, and he made a Pro Bowl.
Christian Duffie is the obvious tackle on campus at 6-foot-4, 295 pounds but they have him on the right side because he’s much more comfortable there and is settling in. Duffie wasn’t great last year but another year and spring will help. At any rate, if Beebe isn’t the starting left tackle it’s not likely to be Duffie. The coaching staff seems to dislike or distrust Kaitori Leveston, the other obvious tackle on campus who’s 6-foot-4, 340 pound frame and reach fit the bill, so they’ll trust Beebe there up until redshirt freshman Carver Willis is ready to take the spot. Willis is a 6-foot-5, 290 pound project from Colorado they took with the understanding he’d need to add weight and strength before he’d be ready to cover the edge. He’s taken quickly to their strength program (he was 260 in high school) and may get the chance, which would allow Beebe to play guard where he’s liable to dominate.
Overall this line is probably one more year away from being very good.
No. 9: Oklahoma State, Caleb Etienne/Jake Springfield
Offensive line and pass protection was a disaster for Oklahoma State last year. Presumptive left tackle Dylan Galloway (the returning starter) medically retired before fall camp and promising young lineman Bryce Bray (along with another guy on the two-deep) were kicked out shortly after for violating team rules.
The ‘Pokes landed on walk-on Jake Springfield at left tackle during the nearly disastrous opener against Tulsa and he was able to keep things stable enough unless facing a top tier edge rusher. At right tackle OSU was always in good hands with either now NFL-tackle Teven Jenkins or by sliding big guard Josh Sills (6-foot-6, 340 pounds) out to right tackle. To resolve these issues they brought in massive JUCO Caleb Etienne (6-foot-8, 350 pounds) to obstruct edge rushers from the left side while sliding Springfield to right tackle.
Springfield was listed in high school as being like 6-foot-3, 260 pounds and looked a bit thin in his limbs to me last year, OSU lists him today at 6-5, 310. Close OSU observer Adam Lunt and I have debated the truth many times, I’m willing to concede he may be 6-foot-4 and at least 290 at this point. Lunt has seen him in person and believes the listing. At any rate, he’s pretty light on his feet and every additional year with strength coach Rob Glass will inevitably increase his knack for withstanding power rushers and getting push in the run game.
I think protecting the edges may be a bit tricky for the Cowboys against the league’s best talents, but they’re liable to be very effective as a unit and inside with Sills and grad transfer center Danny Godlevske.
No. 10: Kansas, Earl Bostick/Malik Clark
Kansas’ tackles were terrible last year, absolutely dreadful. They couldn’t block good edge defenders 1-on-1 and at times against Oklahoma, both of these guys were asked to do so and it just became a race to the quarterback between either Sooner end.
How motivated and focused were they last season? Maybe not very, they can only stand to improve, but they were very bad a year ago.
Overall the league has some teams with solid, experienced players at tackle but there aren’t many obvious, NFL-ready players and overall depth is a concern. Most teams are an injury away at tackle from being extremely vulnerable against half the schedule. If you’re looking for something likely to differentiate contenders, top line tackle quality and then tackle depth are obvious factors.
Cover photo by Shane Ware for Inside Texas
