Three questions for the Texas O-line ahead of training camp
The 2022 Texas offensive line featured the same five starters for all 13 games, but that doesn’t mean that younger players were deprived of in-game opportunity or that there aren’t some questions outstanding in the trenches ahead of the Longhorns’ final year in the Big 12.
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With all five of those starters back, there remain intriguing storylines for Kyle Flood’s position group ahead of the 2023 season.
Inside Texas looks at some of the biggest questions facing the Longhorn O-line ahead of training camp.
How high is the ceiling for Kelvin Banks and Christian Jones?
Last season, Banks’ first and Jones’ fifth, the true freshman left tackle took home second-team All-Big 12 honors while the fifth-year senior right tackle was named an All-Big 12 honorable mention. They provided solid play on an offensive line primarily tasked with paving the way for Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson.
Their tasks may be a bit different this year with the two standout backs off to the NFL and the offense likely to ask more of Quinn Ewers and a loaded pass-catcher corps. That may serve the Texas tackle tandem well considering how PFF graded their season last year.
Jones had a pass blocking grade of 73.1 and a run blocking grade of 68.6 at his more comfortable position of right tackle. Banks, who along with Jones had to face several first-round EDGE talents, was graded at 77.9 in pass blocking and 64.9 in run blocking.
Those strong suits are likely to be accentuated this year as the Longhorns look for more consistency in the pass game.
What will training camp tinkering look like?
Last year, Junior Angilau received some opportunity at center before he suffered his season-ending injury in preseason camp. Angilau’s absence meant that Jake Majors was to man the center position in 2022 with Hayden Conner and true freshman Cole Hutson alongside him at the left and right guard positions.
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Could that change this year? Maybe preseason tinkering includes opportunities for another player at center so Connor Robertson, coming off of a spring wrist procedure, could be an option. Maybe the tinkering is giving other guards first-string reps in place of Conner and Hutson. Though unlikely, maybe it’s moving Jones inside if Flood and Steve Sarkisian believe a dual-upgrade is available at right guard and right tackle.
There are a lot of players for Kyle Flood to choose from in finding an interior trio that will have to protect Ewers in the pocket often.
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Who’s next from the 2022 class?
Banks and Hutson led the way last year with DJ Campbell getting late-season opportunities at right guard as part of a rotation with Hutson. Campbell and Hutson, along with Conner, will be a part of the competition at guard.
As mentioned, Robertson could create a more heated competition at center for Majors or whoever Flood elects to put in that position. But what about others like Neto Umeozulu, Malik Agbo, or Cam Williams? That trio saw action at guard during the spring game, with Williams gaining opportunities at right guard in the absence of Hutson and Campbell.
2022 class members are more likely to see action than any of the young freshmen from the 2023 class, who still have similar physical development ahead of them like their second-year counterparts had one year ago. Whether some players earn their first chances at the top of the depth chart is something to track in camp considering it will reveal a small smidgen of information about their development.
