It’s clear from how Steve Sarkisian and Kyle Flood approached offensive line recruiting when they took over for the Texas Longhorns that they knew an overhaul was needed — after Sarkisian’s first spring on the Forty Acres, the roster featured 14 offensive linemen and 14 wide receivers following a cycle in which the Longhorns only took two offensive linemen.
Over the next two classes, Flood signed 12 players to a roster that now features 18 offensive linemen and 10 wide receivers.
Now, heading into Year Four on the Forty Acres, Flood’s group that was once an immediate and vital priority to fix has become a paragon of consistency and one of the strengths of an offense that will need to take a step up in 2024.
Flood’s room boasts an embarrassment of returning production, especially from the starting group, who collectively boast 145 appearances and 109 starts among the four returning members of the 2023 unit. The lone departing player on the unit is one of the biggest developmental success stories in Flood’s time in Austin, right tackle who in 48 career starts went from a liability to one of the most consistent players across the unit and a potential mid-round NFL Draft pick next month.
The likely candidate to replace Jones is Cam Williams, one Flood’s biggest recruiting coups — both physical and metaphorical — in his first cycle after moving from Tuscaloosa.
The 6’5, 360-pound tackle from Duncanville was one of the most hotly-contested recruiting battles in the country, despite his ranking in the 400s nationally. The ranking of Williams seemed to measure his size, skill, and potential in equal measure to a frame that needed to shed weight once he arrived in a college weight room. Boasting offers from the top offensive line minds in the country, Williams was committed to Oregon, along with fellow tackle Kelvin Banks, before head coach Mario Cristobal’s departure to Miami helped Flood flip both in a signal that times were changing in Austin.
Now, entering their third year on campus, the former Ducks pledges are set to bookend what looks on paper to be one of the best units on the team, if not the best.
Between the two mountains will be one of their 2022 classmates, DJ Campbell, who stepped in and was the full-time starter at right guard for the 2023 season. A consensus five-star prospect ranked as the top Texas signee in that heralded class, Campbell had a longer development curve than Banks — who stepped in as a starter on Day 1 — and still has some work to do as pass blocker. Campbell has all the physical tools needed, but after playing in a run-heavy high school offense, his ability to be a positive force in the pass-blocking game — especially with his eyes and awareness — has to level up for this group to be successful.
On the other side of longtime starter Jake Majors at center is Hayden Conner, a massive three-star recruit and one of the few gifts left by the previous staff as one of those two offensive line signees in 2021. The Katy Taylor graduate, who was once thought to be a lock to Texas A&M, perhaps lacks some of the high-end talent of the rest of the group but makes up for it with aggression and the willingness to finish blocks. His improvement in 2023 was a big part of why both the offensive line as a whole — and the elder statesmen next to him — looked much improved.
Getting another year out of Majors, while expected, was a big win for the team’s offensive prospects as they head into the SEC. While often and sometimes unfairly maligned, there is no substitute for experience for the quarterback of your offensive line and Majors is one of the most experienced players on the team. He should be both a solid presence for the unit as they adjust to the new experiences of the SEC, while maintaining — or hopefully improving on — the standard they set in 2023.
With questions and new contributors at most of the skill positions in 2024, it should serve as a big relief for Texas fans and the coaches to have your most experienced unit be your big guys up front.
