For all of Texas’ skill-position players, the offensive line will determine 2022 success
ARLINGTON — Heisman Trophy-caliber running back Bijan Robinson is exciting, even Lamborghini fast. His backup, Roschon Johnson, could start anywhere.
There’s equal parts hope and hype regarding transfer quarterback Quinn Ewers. Look at all those weapons out wide, too. Xavier Worthy, Jordan Whittington and transfer Isaiah Neyor and Agiye Hall are electric, for sure.
But it’s all about “big humans,” as Texas coach Steve Sarkisian says over and over. “It starts up front,” he said Thursday at Big 12 media days. “You’ve got to be able to block ‘em to get things started.”
Texas is chock full of skill position dynamite. But here’s the truth about the upcoming season: None of them matter if the Longhorns can’t block anybody up front. It’d help to find more people who can make tackles, too.
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Simply put, this season can be boiled down to two basic themes. Can Texas block and tackle? If the answer is yes, this program could make a considerable jump from 5-7 in Sarkisian’s second year.
“I told those guys every day, hey, just give us everything y’all got every day and we’re going to give you guys everything,” Robinson said. “When you guys are doing everything correct and doing everything right and being nasty, being a dog, then we’re following your lead.”
Sarkisian reminded reporters at AT&T Stadium that the Horns signed seven offensive linemen, eight defensive linemen and acquired 35 new players in total. Robinson sure seems impressed with some of the “big humans” Sarkisian has been gathering.
“Some of those dudes came in, and I was like, first of all, y’all are very big. Very big dudes,” Robinson said.
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Freshman Cameron Williams is 6-foot-7, 374 pounds. “I saw Cam Williams the first day he came, and I just looked up,” defensive anchor DeMarvion Overshown said. “You ain’t going to see too many people like this in Arp, Texas, I can tell you that.”
Freshman Kelvin Banks, a potential starter at left tackle, is 6-foot-5 and weighs 318 pounds.
Robinson said he tried to joke with Banks one day in the weight room. “He just looked at me. Like, what are you? Leave me alone,” Robinson said.
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Freshman DJ Campbell is 6-3, 321. “Huge,” defensive end Ovie Oghoufo said. “Cam Williams, man. Kelvin Banks. Man, they’re really good. DJ Campbell. Those three really pop in my head right now. I’m excited for their career.”
Offensive line coach Kyle Flood should have an easier time finding eight or so pivotal players.
Guard Junior Angilau, a three-year starter, is going into his fifth season at UT. Sophomore Jake Majors started all last season at center. Senior tackle Christian Jones is a returning starter. Sophomore Hayden Conner has experience.
But it’s impossible to overstate the high hopes for several of these new freshmen, including Banks and Williams. All the freshmen enrolled for summer school and will hit the blocking sled hard in August.
Asked when he knew Texas needed to focus on recruiting linemen, Sarkisian said, “Truthfully, in the interview.”
Sarkisian said feel free to ask athletic director Chris Del Conte, too. “That was one of the things I said. We need bigger humans in our program. The numbers just weren’t the way I would have liked it. The body structure. There’s just a lot to it.
“I just value up-front play,” Sarkisian added. “So much of your team and your program and the identity of that comes through the big people up front.”
After Sarkisian got the job, he was talking with Vince Young and Kasey Studdard, the quarterback and offensive guard of the 2005 national title team. They won it all by dominating people up front, which allowed Young to showcase his magical running style.
“When you can start mauling people,” Sarkisian said, “the game’s a lot easier.”
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It’s simply not good enough to have a strong rushing game. Texas was second in the Big 12 in rushing yards per game last season and still went 5-7. The passing game struggled and finished seventh in the league.
Maybe that was due to Casey Thompson’s thumb injury or maybe it was the lack of overall consistency. But Texas blew second-half, double-digit leads against three ranked teams in part because the Longhorns couldn’t grind down the clock.
Having bullies up front allows teams to move the chains, eat up clock and kill off the fourth quarter. Some coaches dismiss the time of possession statistic, but the Horns were No. 9 in the Big 12 in that category. UT had the ball an average of 28 minutes, six seconds. Baylor, the Big 12 champion, had it for 31:23.
Of course, the Horns must force other teams to punt, too. Texas was No. 8 in the league in defense last season and allowed 31.1 points per game.
Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski plans on moving Overshown to the edge this season, which should free “Agent Zero” up to make more plays. “You can expect me to be doing everything on defense,” Overshown said.
Overshown talked up the defensive linemen but doted on Barryn Sorrell, a sophomore edge rusher from New Orleans. Linebacker Jaylan Ford is another player to watch along with Ohio State cornerback transfer Ryan Watts.
“Thus far from what I’ve seen, the defense is a close bunch,” Johnson said. “The guys, they love each other, they feed off each other’s energy.”
There’s a lot to like about this Texas roster. But it starts up front.
“They came in here ready to work,” Robinson said, “and they came in here ready to get to work immediately.”
Contact Brian Davis by phone or text at 512-445-3957. Email bdavis@statesman.com or follow on Twitter via @BDavisAAS.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: University of Texas 2022 football success hinges on offensive line
