Offseason inventory: A look at Texas' offensive line (with predictions)
If in November someone told me T’Vondre Sweat, Jordan Whittington, and Christian Jones would all return for one more year, I would have patted them on the head and said thanks for the info little buddy.
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Alas, that’s what happened and Texas should be much better for it. Sweat gives Texas a genuine NFL ‘big’ up front. Whittington gives the offense an elder to lean on who epitomizes teamwork through his play. And Christian Jones, along with Kelvin Banks, gives Kyle Flood one of the best pair of bookend tackles in the country.
The return of Jones would seemingly make next year’s line straightforward, after all, the same five started all 13 games this season. It’s unlikely to go that way, though, for a handful of reasons.
Before the fool’s errand of predicting offensive line, I like to look at where each individual player projects based on most likely to least likely. Let’s start there.
SO Kelvin Banks: LT. The Freshman All-American could probably play TE or DT too, but he’s an NFL LT. Hopes were high for him as a freshman and he still exceeded them. I like to think him choosing a truck as part of his NIL portfolio demonstrates the same maturity that allowed him to play at such a high level so early.
SO Cole Hutson: OG, C. The “other” true freshman starter. His shoulder issue limited some of his upper body strength and he’ll miss time this spring. As much as being an early enrollee helped him last year, missing time this spring could claw back some of his early advantage. Center is a position that requires a ton of reps and he’ll miss those, at least for a while. Because of that, I predict he’ll remain at guard for one more year.
SR Christian Jones: RT, OG. He’d be a sensational guard but there is absolutely zero reason to break in a brand new right tackle, I don’t care how talented the tackle is. When it comes to offensive tackle Flood can set it and forget it.
JR Jake Majors: C. Flood clearly covets more size at the position but that would sacrifice experience and know-how. Majors did have too many pre-snap penalties this year, but I wonder how full his plate is with such a young offensive line.
JR Hayden Conner: OG, RT. Like Majors, Conner is very smart but he had too many pre-snap penalties this year. Is it a concentration thing or was he helping to communicate calls to Banks? We know if Junior Angilau had become the center last year Conner would have been the one making line calls. Conner looked better out in space as the season wore on but he didn’t get enough push in the run game. There was talk of him getting a look at right tackle but that was before it was known Jones would return.
SO DJ Campbell: OG. He had some devastating blocks this season but his head was still swimming late in the year. Spring ball is to help slow things down. Campbell has an excellent chance to start next season if he can become more consistent.
SO Cameron Williams: RT, OG. It’s a bummer he didn’t redshirt this season but that just explains how much upside the staff sees in him. He’s not going to be around for five years. The return of Jones creates a barrier for Williams in his second year, but I expect to see him receive reps at RT as circumstances allow. Plug and play isn’t just based on talent. Experience has a lot to say about that. Williams will be plug and play by the time his name is called. He could play guard but he’s clearly a tackle in the staff’s eyes.
JR Sawyer Goram-Welch: C, OG. The selfless Goram-Welch originally decided to come back for another year in order to return to defensive line, however injuries to Cole Hutson and Connor Robertson will keep him at center for the spring. Not every selfless player becomes a cult hero like Roschon Johnson but they’re still deserving of recognition for what they bring to the program.
RS FR Neto Umeozulu: OG, RT. He only played in three games but his upside is very high. We’ll be asking about him frequently during spring ball. I think for him to start Hutson would need to win the center job, but we expect Umeozulu to play more than he did this season where it was beneficial to preserve his redshirt. If Sark re-deploys the heavy TE set, aka the Andrej Karic role, Umeozulu will likely get the call.
RS FR Connor Robertson: C, OG. Missing time this spring is not ideal but he still has plenty of time to develop into a starting center.
RS FR Malik Agbo: OG, RT. Sources are as high on the big, bouncy dude from the Pacific Northwest. He’ll get a genuine look at guard this spring. He’ll add to the competition but might still be a year away.
RS SO Max Merril: OG. Needless to say Merril has a lot of bodies ahead of him.
True Freshman
I don’t expect any of the true freshmen to log much playing time but here’s how I see their eventual fit.
Jaydon Chatman: RT, OG, LT. High floor player with versatility.
Payton Kirkland: RT, OG, LT. High ceiling player with versatility.
Connor Stroh: OG, RT. Raw materials and a good mental evaluation have me excited to see what he ultimately becomes.
Andre Cojoe: OG, RT. I think he turns 17 on Tuesday. Upside upside upside.
Trevor Goosby: LT, RT. The second or third best left tackle traits in the program. Will need some time to develop but has a genuine chance to become a starting left tackle.
Projected Game 1 Starters
LT Kelvin Banks-LG DJ Campbell-C Jake Majors-RG Cole Hutson-RT Christian Jones.
If Hutson was available for spring ball at center I could have seen it this way: LT Kelvin Banks-LG DJ Campbell-C Cole Hutson-RG Hayden Conner-RT Christian Jones.
I went back and forth quite a bit on Conner or Umeozulu there. I think Conner has a big offseason ahead of him to hold off the younger guys. He has to get stronger and more physical in the run game.
There’s a lot of good news on the offensive line, particularly with the tackles. I also like the fact they should have little trouble coming up with at least 8 reliable players for next season.
