OTF Premium Three things to consider regarding Laurence Seymore and Texas' left guard competition

[Jeff Howe]

College football’s talking season is rife with hyperbole.

Thankfully, Steve Sarkisian shelved coachspeak last month after praising Laurence Seymore for the strides he’s made since joining the Texas program in June. It painted the most realistic picture of what to expect from Seymore when the Longhorns hold their first preseason practice on Wednesday.

“It’s difficult in the summertime. We’re in underwear,” Sarkisian said during his press conference at the Texas High School Coaches Association Convention in Houston. “We'll find out a lot in training camp, especially when we get into the second week, when we're really in full pads and we're getting going. But so far, so good with him.”

If Seymore, a 2025 second-team All-American with 27 career games played and 21 starts over parts of four seasons at Miami, Akron and Western Kentucky, wins the starting job at left guard, he’ll fill the biggest need Texas had on either side of the ball coming out of spring practice.

But Seymore must win the job. It won’t be given to him.

Seymore has to prove to Sarkisian and Kyle Flood that he’s the best option to protect Arch Manning and elevate the running game over Jaydon Chatman, Jackson Christian, Dylan Sikorski and any other challengers Seymore might face in camp.

Before the 6-foot-2-inch, 316-pound Seymore hits the field for the first time in a formal practice with the Longhorns, there are three things to consider regarding the left guard competition:

— Seymore’s presence as a pass blocker could be the most significant upgrade any of the transfer portal additions on offense will bring to the table in 2026.

Seymore’s Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade of 82.6 ranked 30th among FBS guards with at least 100 pass-blocking snaps last season (eight pressures allowed on 503 opportunities). While he dominated the competition in Conference USA, Seymore also allowed just one pressure on 48 opportunities against LSU and was charged with only one penalty on 840 snaps for the season.

Those are important numbers against the backdrop of what Texas got out of the left guard position in 2025.

According to PFF, the left guard position was responsible for 26.5 percent of the dropbacks on which Manning was pressured. That was the highest percentage of any position on the Texas offensive line and the highest percentage for any FBS offensive line’s left guard spot among the 136 quarterbacks in the country who were pressured on at least 50 dropbacks.

— One of the legitimate questions regarding Seymore’s potential impact is how he’ll operate within Sarkisian’s zone running game.

PFF’s run-blocking grades rated DJ Campbell (73.6) and Cole Hutson (71.6) as better overall run blockers than Seymore (63.9; PFF considers a grade of 70 above average). Of Seymore’s 308 gradable run-blocking snaps, 62.7 percent of them were on gap schemes; on zone runs, Campbell (81.2) and Hutson (74.5) graded out significantly higher than Seymore (60.2).

Seymore should help the Longhorns improve as a gap/power running team. Still, Seymore must be well-rounded enough to keep opponents from successfully attacking a vulnerable part of the line.

— Whether Hutson rejoins the team or not, Chatman, Christian, Sikorski and the other contenders for playing time at left guard have an advantage over Seymore with their varying levels of experience in Sarkisian’s offense.

How fast Seymore absorbs the offense and takes to the field could be the biggest factor in how long the competition lasts. If Seymore needs time to get things down, Sarkisian and Flood could look at other options, some of which could significantly alter the projected depth chart as camp progresses.

Andre Cojoe, Jonte Newman or John Turntine III emerging as a viable third tackle option behind Trevor Goosby and Melvin Siani could lead to Jordan Coleman, who spent the spring at left tackle while Goosby was recovering from shoulder surgery, getting a look at guard.

Not only would Seymore winning the left guard job put the starting five for the Sept. 5 season opener against Texas State in stone, but it would also let Sarkisian and Flood get their depth pieces in order. Maximizing the available depth by turning to the best possible combination in a pinch is pivotal to the offense maintaining consistency and potency during a potential 17-game season, to say the least.

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[Jeff Howe]

Nothing like an offensive line article to trigger @Joe Zura to kick off the week of camp!

[Joe Zura]

11 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

Nothing like an offensive line article to trigger @Joe Zura to kick off the week of camp!

[NothinButDaHorns34]

I am hoping seymore can pick up this offense quickly, the speed of the game and size difference because he had no problem against LSU. 

[Rocky P]

So this is all on Seymour's shoulders and we are not putting any of the pressure on Flood to figure it out?  What does he have on people? 

[Joe Zura]

Just now, Rocky P said:

So this is all on Seymour's shoulders and we are not putting any of the pressure on Flood to figure it out?  What does he have on people? 

This is exactly what I’ve been saying he has to have something massive on everyone just me tho @Gerry Hamilton care to say anything since you defend flood more than anyone 👀👀👀👀😭

[hookem1014]

Last fall we heard reports of the defense dominating pretty much the whole camp. That was a red flag to me, and it showed with the terrible o line play this past season. I expect defense to be a step ahead to start but hopefully it becomes much more of a battle as camp progresses. 

[JMarquette]

So much of run blocking on the interior are basically double teams. It’s very possible Seymore grades out lower because he had crappy double teams due to someone else. I don’t think grades are necessarily helpful. Fall camp will tell us everting. 

[drag worm]

17 minutes ago, Rocky P said:

So this is all on Seymour's shoulders and we are not putting any of the pressure on Flood to figure it out?  What does he have on people? 

Pressure or not, it would be a biblical waste of roster money to see that position struggle again and hinder the offense this year. 

[Burnt Orange Horn]

I bet Chatman will give him a serious run at LG.

🤘🏻🤘🏼🤘🤘🏽🤘🏾🤘🏿

[HonkEm]

If Seymore doesn’t win LG, that’s not “competition,” that’s Flood whiffing again. Texas didn’t pull a 27‑game starter out of the portal just to watch LG get forklifted like last season. The pass‑pro numbers are real, the LSU tape is real, and the LG pressure rate was a felony.

Chatman’s solid, but if he beats Seymore outright? That’s a Flood problem, not a “development win.”

Bottom line: Seymore should take it. Flood needs him to take it. And if he doesn’t, the excuses are cooked.

[Red Five]

Haha, forklifted. 

Chatman isn't going to beat out Hutson, much less Seymore. Of course I probably would have said something similar this time last year about Connor Stroh.

[HookedOnTF]

2 hours ago, NothinButDaHorns34 said:

I am hoping seymore can pick up this offense quickly, the speed of the game and size difference because he had no problem against LSU. 

Well if he doesn't, and rides the bench to start the season, at least we have a secret weapon for the LSU game.

[JMarquette]

34 minutes ago, Red Five said:

Haha, forklifted. 

Chatman isn't going to beat out Hutson, much less Seymore. Of course I probably would have said something similar this time last year about Connor Stroh.

I wouldn’t say Stroh beat Neto out, that was really a race to the bottom.

[Here for the Wins]

Seymore or whichever dude takes LG will be just fine.

But y’all’s review of him is pretty weak.  2nd team All American.  Yet 2nd team all conference.   Not 2nd team all SEC or Big 10. Odd.  His grades put him nowhere near all American and outside of WKU people who watches all their games?  Phil Steele I suppose.

WKU on straight drops got rid of the ball a half second faster than Arch on non-screens.  So keep that in mind.

Yeah he did well versus LSU.  They had another OLineman give up no pressures.  Another in addition to Seymore gave up 1.  LSU’s interior guys graded out pretty meagerly on the season.  The best guy at either run d or pass rush graded out at about 160th best in the country or something like that.Their overall rush defense graded at 43rd, pass rush 71st.  That 71st tied with Arkansas.  Did we score on them or not?  I forget.

The defensive teams WKU played were 123rd per FEI.  In other words, his grades were compiled versus garbage.  He had a stellar pass block game versus Sam.  An atrocious run block game versus Sam.

None of that means he won’t be fine or good.  The experience and talent surrounding him is significant.  We simply need to not have a repeat of one guy from last year (and I’m not talking about the guy that many of you morons throw out).

But go on, continue with your misguided narratives and your limited perspectives.

 

Thanks for your time.

[NTX_Horn]

If Hutson is given the extra year, is Seymour really expected to be better than him?  

[JMarquette]

2 minutes ago, Here for the Wins said:

Seymore or whichever dude takes LG will be just fine.

But y’all’s review of him is pretty weak.  2nd team All American.  Yet 2nd team all conference.   Not 2nd team all SEC or Big 10. Odd.  His grades put him nowhere near all American and outside of WKU people who watches all their games?  Phil Steele I suppose.

WKU on straight drops got rid of the ball a half second faster than Arch on non-screens.  So keep that in mind.

Yeah he did well versus LSU.  They had another OLineman give up no pressures.  Another in addition to Seymore gave up 1.  LSU’s interior guys graded out pretty meagerly on the season.  The best guy at either run d or pass rush graded out at about 160th best in the country or something like that.Their overall rush defense graded at 43rd, pass rush 71st.  That 71st tied with Arkansas.  Did we score on them or not?  I forget.

The defensive teams WKU played were 123rd per FEI.  In other words, his grades were compiled versus garbage.  He had a stellar pass block game versus Sam.  An atrocious run block game versus Sam.

None of that means he won’t be fine or good.  The experience and talent surrounding him is significant.  We simply need to not have a repeat of one guy from last year (and I’m not talking about the guy that many of you morons throw out).

But go on, continue with your misguided narratives and your limited perspectives.

 

Thanks for your time.

Hope your son is doing well in Lawrence, Mr. Stroh.

[Assistant Regional Manager]

41 minutes ago, HonkEm said:

If Seymore doesn’t win LG, that’s not “competition,” that’s Flood whiffing again. Texas didn’t pull a 27‑game starter out of the portal just to watch LG get forklifted like last season. The pass‑pro numbers are real, the LSU tape is real, and the LG pressure rate was a felony.

Chatman’s solid, but if he beats Seymore outright? That’s a Flood problem, not a “development win.”

Bottom line: Seymore should take it. Flood needs him to take it. And if he doesn’t, the excuses are cooked.

These posts always make me laugh. Suggesting that we just play a guy for optics even if he is beaten out.

Sarkisian and Flood aren’t the first football coaches to ever make a poor personnel decision. It happens.

Last year, we went into camp with 3 offensive lineman who had ever started a college game. This year, we have 7. That is night and day difference and will allow true competition to run its course.

[Here for the Wins]

11 minutes ago, JMarquette said:

Hope your son is doing well in Lawrence, Mr. Stroh.

Doing well so far.  Thanks for asking.

 

He’s striving to be the next Carson Tinney in your eyes.

Edited 16 hours ago by Here for the Wins

[Here for the Wins]

3 minutes ago, Assistant Regional Manager said:

 

Last year, we went into camp with 3 offensive lineman who had ever started a college game. This year, we have 7. That is night and day difference and will allow true competition to run its course.

This is it.  And Goosby had what 2, 3 starts?  Not sure how many snaps at Center Hutson had either.  And Campbell for whatever reason had more penalties than ever.

We aren’t even close to that this year.  Sikorski may have more starts at Guard than anyone else we had back at their same position.

[HonkEm]

9 minutes ago, Assistant Regional Manager said:

These posts always make me laugh. Suggesting that we just play a guy for optics even if he is beaten out.

Sarkisian and Flood aren’t the first football coaches to ever make a poor personnel decision. It happens.

Last year, we went into camp with 3 offensive lineman who had ever started a college game. This year, we have 7. That is night and day difference and will allow true competition to run its course.

Nobody said “play him for optics.” The point is simple: you don’t bring in a multi‑season starter to maybe fix the soft spot in the middle. That spot was a weekly liability, and Seymore was added to erase it. If he can’t beat out a steady-but-limited returner, that’s not “healthy competition,” that’s the same evaluation issue we’ve seen before.

And sure, having more guys with real snaps helps --- no argument there. But depth doesn’t change the expectation at that specific spot. LG was a problem. They went and got someone who’s supposed to solve that problem. If he doesn’t, that’s on the staff, not on the idea of competition.

[JMarquette]

13 minutes ago, Assistant Regional Manager said:

These posts always make me laugh. Suggesting that we just play a guy for optics even if he is beaten out.

Sarkisian and Flood aren’t the first football coaches to ever make a poor personnel decision. It happens.

Last year, we went into camp with 3 offensive lineman who had ever started a college game. This year, we have 7. That is night and day difference and will allow true competition to run its course.

That’s fair, but the criticism comes where it took them 6 weeks to figure out the correct lineup. It would be unacceptable for Sark & Flood to not have a solution after having the entire offseason to address it. 

[HonkEm]

18 minutes ago, Here for the Wins said:

This is it.  And Goosby had what 2, 3 starts?  Not sure how many snaps at Center Hutson had either.  And Campbell for whatever reason had more penalties than ever.

We aren’t even close to that this year.  Sikorski may have more starts at Guard than anyone else we had back at their same position.

I love these conversations, and I might be totally off here, but none of that really touches the point I was trying to make. More returning snaps across the line absolutely helps the overall unit --- Again, no argument there. But that doesn’t change the expectation at that spot. That position was the soft spot last season, and the staff went out and grabbed a veteran with a ton of experience specifically to stabilize it.

If he doesn’t take that job, that’s not some “look how much deeper we are now” moment. That’s the staff missing on a targeted fix. Depth helps the room, sure. It doesn’t erase what they brought Seymore here to do.

Edited 15 hours ago by HonkEm

[Assistant Regional Manager]

20 minutes ago, HonkEm said:

And sure, having more guys with real snaps helps --- no argument there. But depth doesn’t change the expectation at that specific spot. LG was a problem. They went and got someone who’s supposed to solve that problem.

Depth doesn’t change the equation? The whole point of depth is having more quality options at your disposal to solve problems so you aren’t having to start Connor Stroh when another guy shows he isn’t ready.

The addition of Seymore and Sikorski, a healthy Cojoe, another year of development from Coleman, a blue chip HS OL in Turntine…all factor into the equation of improving LG, wherever directly or indirectly. Seymore is not the only option and it would be malpractice if he was.

Edited 15 hours ago by Assistant Regional Manager

[Shane]

Just here to watch @Joe Zurahead explode!