Considering how Georgia and Ohio State stymied a Longhorn ground attack lacking diversity in the team’s three losses, the offense might’ve been better served by Steve Sarkisian not pulling so many stretch plays from the well. Regardless, the body of work put together by the offensive line and running backs over a 16-game season revealed that wider was better for Texas in 2024.

According to Pro Football Focus, 243 — more than 45 percent — of the offense’s non-sack rushing attempts were from the C gap (between the tackle and the tight end) to the sideline. It was that portion of the line of scrimmage where the Longhorns racked up more than 51 percent of their non-sack rushing yardage (1,415 yards and 5.82 yards per attempt), 64 percent of their rushing touchdowns (16), more than half of their total yards after contact (924 yards and 3.81 yards after contact per attempt) and more than 48 percent of their rushing attempts that gained at least 10 yards (33).

The 75 missed tackles Texas ball carriers forced on wide runs accounted for more than 67 percent of the missed tackles forced by the Longhorns on their non-sack rushing attempts.

Furthermore, Quintrevion Wisner is the returning leading rusher in the SEC (1,064 yards, 4.7 yards per attempt and five rushing touchdowns) and was most effective on wide runs as a sophomore. The data collected by PFF shows Wisner gained 448 yards, scored all of his rushing touchdowns, recorded 10 of his 27 gains that went for 10 or more yards and forced 27 missed tackles on C-gap-to-sideline rushing attempts, even though those runs accounted for only 45 percent of his total carries (226).

So, which concept will be the focal point of the Texas running game in 2025?

According to offensive line coach Kyle Flood, who met with reporters on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s first training camp practice, the Longhorns haven’t settled on one.

This will be the ninth consecutive season Flood has worked alongside Sarkisian, which dates back to their time together in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons. Flood said the go-to scheme is subject to change from year to year, pointing out that, in 2024, the outside zone "was very productive for us over the course of the season.”

“I don’t know what that’s going to look like this year yet,” Flood said. “I think we’ll have a much better vision of that as we go through training camp and we allow these linemen and tight ends to work together.”

Based on how the Texas running game has evolved since Sarkisian’s first season on the Forty Acres, Flood isn’t being coy when discussing what the running game will hang its hat on in the current regime’s fifth season.

The Longhorns relied heavily on inside zone runs in 2021 (according to PFF, Bijan Robinson had 138 rushing attempts on zone-based plays and just 57 carries on gap-based runs), preferring zone concepts 66 percent of the time. The percentage of zone runs dropped to 57 in 2022, with Roschon Johnson splitting his carries almost equally between zone (47 attempts) and gap-based runs (44).

In 2023, with the addition of CJ Baxter, who had more attempted gap runs (69) than zone runs, the 2023 running game, and Jonathon Brooks closing the margin between his zone (101) and gap (86) runs, Texas won the Big 12 and reached the College Football Playoff behind a running game operating on a 54/46 percentage split between zone and gap runs. Last season, even with outside zone being the dominant concept, the Longhorns had a 52/48 percentage split favoring zone runs, their most balanced running game under Sarkisian.

What must the coaches consider when establishing which concepts could best help Texas reach the national championship game for the first time since the Longhorns played for the BCS title in 2009?

It starts with Flood replacing four starters along the offensive line.

And the strongest parts of the line are just as important as determining the schemes in which the retooled group might be most proficient.

Last season, the A gap between Jake Majors and Hayden Conner (89 attempts) and the C gap between Kelvin Banks Jr. (87 attempts) and the tight end were the most popular gaps for running plays according to PFF. Those three players are gone. Still, Trevor Goosby was the left tackle for Wisner’s 186-yard performance in the regular-season finale against Texas A&M, and Neto Umeozulu could offer a better, more consistent push in the running game as he takes over for Conner at left guard.

Baxter was back on the practice field Wednesday, less than a year after a preseason knee injury wiped out his sophomore season. With Christian Clark showing no signs of slowing down while going through his remarkable recovery from an Achilles injury, and Jerrick Gibson trying to prove he’s worthy of carries after an up-and-down debut, the running back room is a lot more crowded than it was when Baxter was leading the way last summer.

“Ultimately, as coaches, we’ll figure out what schemes are going to allow us to utilize that personnel in the best way,” Flood said. “It may be outside the zone again, but I don’t go into it saying, ‘This is what we’re going to be exclusively,’ or, ‘This is what we’re going to do more than anything else.’ I think I want to see that in training camp to really be sure what we feel like is the best thing for this football team, and assume that just because outside zone might’ve been best last year, that it’s going to be best for us again.”

Kwiatkowski’s first season on the Forty Acres was largely forgettable. While allowing the second-most yards per rushing attempt (5.15) of any Longhorn defense and third-most yards per play (6.03) and points per game (31.1) in school history, Kwiatkowski’s first season saw Texas record 20 sacks in a 12-game campaign, good for a No. 98 finish nationally (1.67 sacks per game).

“What pass rush?” Kwiatkowski quipped before the start of the 2022 season when reflecting on the worst Texas pass rush since 1997 (15 sacks total and an average of 1.36 per game). The Longhorns improved over the next two seasons, averaging 2.08 sacks per game (No. 77 in FBS) in 2022 and 2.29 sacks per game (No. 52) in 2023 before the pass rush took off with authority in 2024.

“We’ve come a long way from whenever that was,” Kwiatkowski said Tuesday, when he and fellow coordinators Kyle Flood and Jeff Banks met with the media ahead of Wednesday’s first camp practice.

After sacking opposing quarterbacks 46 times (2.88 sacks per game, which was good for a No. 15 FBS ranking) en route to a second consecutive trip to the College Football Playoff semifinals, Texas heads into the 2025 season boasting arguably the nation’s fiercest pass rush.

The returns of Colin Simmons (nine sacks as a true freshman), Anthony Hill Jr. (eight) and Trey Moore (5.5) account for the bulk of the 32 sacks the Longhorns welcome back from last season. With Kwiatkowski stewarding the expansion of Moore’s job description to include more snaps at the second level of the defense, along with the shift of transfer Brad Spence (4.5 sacks with Arkansas in 2024) from linebacker to EDGE, the Longhorns have added more pieces to the chessboard.

Kwiatkowski said he’s excited about the possible sub-package looks and lineup combinations he can put on the field, even if maximizing his personnel is easier said than done.

“It makes it difficult because you've got all of these guys that you’re trying to put into position to make plays,” Kwiatkowski said. “It’s a good problem to have.”

An elite pass rush might be most responsible for the success Texas enjoyed on defense last season. The Longhorns allow the third-fewest points per game (15.3), total yards per game (283.4) and yards per play (4.4) in the nation.

Texas was ranked in the top 15 nationally in rushing yards allowed per game (109.6) and yards per rushing attempt allowed (3.24), which opened up more pass-rushing opportunities. With quarterbacks feeling the heat more often, the Longhorns led the SEC and were No. 2 nationally in takeaways (31), including 22 interceptions (tied for the FBS lead), and fielded the country’s No. 8-ranked third-down defense (31.4 percent conversion rate allowed).

With that said, there are two reasons to believe the encore could pack more of a punch.

For starters, Kwiatkowski said understanding and putting into practice the details of the EDGE position will lead to more consistent production from Simmons.

“He's a playmaker. He's got great ability and skill. It's just attention to the details; being more physical when we need him to be more physical,” Kwiatkowski said.

Even after Simmons won the Shaun Alexander Award and began an ascent toward an early selection in the 2027 NFL Draft, what LaAllan Clark said when asked for his initial impressions of the 6-foot-3-inch, 240-pounder should have the Texas faithful giddy for what’s to come.

“An elite player who left a lot on the bone last year,” said the man working with Simmons and the other Longhorn edge defenders. “He’s ready to take that next step.

“He’s just scratching the surface.”

Then there’s Hill, whose next step, Kwiatkowski said, is growing his game in pass coverage. Hill expanding his skill set could allow Kwiatkowski to use him as a decoy to open things up for other Texas defenders and make it tougher for offenses to try and exploit him when hunting matchups.

“He has a nose for the ball, plays his tail off and has a knack for big plays,” Kwiatkowski said of Hill, a second-team All-American linebacker as a sophomore and a projected first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. “It's just the consistency in his pass coverage. That’s the next step, and he's doing a good job with that.”

If Kwiatkowski can do more with Simmons and Hill, it’s hard to imagine any collegiate defensive front being harder to deal with than the one the Longhorns will deploy.

Kwiatkowski didn’t tip his hand on what he’s cooking up for the Cotton Bowl rematch with Ohio State in 32 days. Still, it was hard for Kwiatkowski to hide his excitement about the personnel he’ll be working with in camp as he and the defensive staff begin molding the ball of clay that is the 2025 defense.

“I feel really good about what we've got personnel-wise,” Kwiatkowski said. “Guys coming off the edge, 'backers can rush the passer and we've got good D-tackles that can push the pocket.”

This year, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian will speak to the high school coaches gathered inside San Antonio’s Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on Tuesday.

On Texas Football is onsite to hear Sarkisian’s remarks with 39 standing between the Longhorns and the 2025 season opener against reigning national champion Ohio State.

The Longhorns and Buckeyes should be among the highest-ranked teams in the Associated Press Top 25 when they pick up on Aug. 30 where they left off in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10. The last time Sarkisian kicked off a season in a game featuring two top-10 squads, he was in his third season coaching USC’s quarterbacks for Pete Carroll when the eighth-ranked Trojans went into Jordan-Hare Stadium and smacked No. 6 Auburn, 23-0.

That’s one of three times throughout Sarkisian’s collegiate coaching career in which he’s had to prepare a team for a season opener on the road against a current member of a Power Four conference. He hasn’t coached a season opener against an AP Top 25 foe since 2013 (Washington soundly defeated No. 19 Boise State, at home, 38-6).

Still, Sarkisian is drawing on those experiences to prepare his squad for “probably the most daunting challenge of a first game” in his career.

“You just try to tap into those things throughout your career that you've been through,” Sarkisian said on Sunday at the Texas High School Coaches Association Convention in San Antonio. “How can you benefit from that?”

Like the team Sarkisian is taking to Columbus, USC lacked extensive experience at key positions entering the 2003 season. First-round NFL draft picks Carson Palmer and Troy Polamalu were among five Trojans selected from a team that finished Carroll’s second season with a share of the Pac-10 title and an 11-2 record after a rout of Iowa in the Orange Bowl.

Matt Leinart’s starting debut came against the Tigers. The shutout win over Auburn, which received a first-place vote in the preseason AP Top 25, also marked the USC debuts of running backs Reggie Bush and LenDale White; Bush and Leinart were two of seven Trojans on the 2003 roster (USC went 12-1 that season and split the national championship with an LSU team coached by Nick Saban) who went on to become first-round NFL draft picks.

Led by four preseason All-SEC first-team selections (DJ Campbell, Anthony Hill, Colin Simmons, Michael Taaffe and Quintrevion Wisner), the Longhorns’ current roster could prove worthy of standing side by side with the most talented collegiate teams with which Sarkisian has been associated. Wanting to ensure the 2025 squad puts its best foot forward against the reigning national champions, Sarkisian will maximize the team's preseason practice time while maintaining a proven camp format.

“The first 2.5 weeks or so of training camp have been truly that — of training camp. Then, we've adjusted, kind of, into that third week, where we've gotten into that first opponent, that bigger opponent,” Sarkisian said. A few years ago, it was Alabama for that week. Last year, it was Michigan. This year, it would be Ohio State. That was really implementing the game plan for that game. In the fourth week, we would then game-plan and prepare for our first opponent.

“This year, what it'll look like more [is] kind of a two-week process to get ready for the game,” he continued. “Similar, in a sense, I guess you could say, almost to a bowl game. Yet, the reality of it is, probably with a little more physicality, a little more opportunity to tackle and to do those things to make sure that you're sharp.”

There are concerns to address going into a season opener, regardless of the opponent. For Sarkisian, tackling and ball security top the list, as they do for most coaches.

While issues relating to alignment, assignment and communication can be problematic early in the season, Sarkisian also mentioned "dealing with performance anxiety." Not every current Texas player was on the field for meaningful snaps in Tuscaloosa, Ann Arbor, College Station or other road environments similar to the Horseshoe that the Longhorns have experienced.

For Sarkisian, no stone will be left unturned by the Longhorns to make sure they're ready for their second meeting with Ohio State in less than eight months.

“If I can put them in some of those elements, as well as the staff putting together a good game plan, and then we can get up there and go cut it loose and go play,” Sarkisian said.

***

ATLANTA — The palpable buzz Texas created at SEC Media Days on Tuesday doesn’t guarantee anything regarding the outcome of the 2025 season.

Still, coach Steve Sarkisian, quarterback Arch Manning and the Longhorns dominated the conversation before, during and after they made their way through the College Football Hall of Fame.

The Texas hype reached a fever pitch before OTF 5-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson (Loganville, Ga./Grayson) went live on ESPN and committed to Texas on the “Pat McAfee Show." James Johnson’s (Cape Coral, Fla./Miami Northwestern) flip from Georgia to the Longhorns a few hours later punctuated a day when Sarkisian’s program went into Kirby Smart’s backyard, planted a flag with authority and headed home with two elite future defensive pieces — the No. 1 recruit in Georgia and a blue-chip defensive lineman previously bound for Smart’s Bulldogs  — in the fold.

The rivalry between Texas and Georgia is currently a one-sided affair on the field. The Longhorns didn’t find their footing in time to make a 30-15 regular-season loss to the Bulldogs more competitive, and Georgia emerged victorious from a slugfest at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the SEC title.

“To be honest, they out-physicalled us in that first game,” All-American safety Michael Taaffe said Tuesday. “We’ve got to come with a physical nature and a sense of pride knowing that if we want to get to where we want to go in December, we’ve got to beat those guys.”

Smart once girded his loins and aimed at supplanting Nick Saban’s Alabama dynasty as college football's new gold standard. With 105 wins, three conference championships and two national titles through nine seasons at his alma mater, Smart’s program is the top dog in the SEC.

Sarkisian’s 38 wins are tied with Mack Brown for the most of any Longhorn coach through their first four seasons. Consecutive trips to the College Football Playoff prove Sarkisian has Texas on the verge of entering another golden era on the Forty Acres.

Smart and the Bulldogs are the biggest obstacles to Sarkisian and the Longhorns getting over the hump.

The schools combined to produce 25 picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, including six first-rounders. With Sarkisian and Smart leading the way, Texas and Georgia are positioned to duke it out head-to-head in a climb for the summit for the foreseeable future.

“I think those are the two premier programs and premier coaches in college football,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said Monday.

Between his time with Sarkisian under Pete Carroll at USC (2001-03; 2005-06) and on Saban's Crimson Tide staff (2016), Kiffin’s offense went against Smart's defense on the practice field in Tuscaloosa during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Touting Sarkisian and Smart as “really good friends and really good people,” Kiffin isn’t surprised to see two "phenomenal coaches” guiding organizations that are thriving against the sport's chaotic, uncertain backdrop.

“I feel like both these guys really run their program truly as a CEO and know everything that's going on,” Kiffin said. “They're very creative in their ideas and how to navigate through this world we're in now.”

Saban once transitioned from the hunter to the hunted when Alabama ended Urban Meyer’s phenomenal Florida run; a 32-13 triumph in the 2009 SEC Championship Game opened the door for Saban to win his first national championship with the Crimson Tide. The target every SEC coach currently has in their crosshairs is the one on Smart’s back, a reality from which the Longhorns aren’t shying away.

“We want to play against the best teams in the world,” All-American linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. said Tuesday. “Going against them is a great test for us throughout the season.”

After squaring off in Austin and Atlanta, the third meeting between Texas and Georgia in a 392-day window will be the Longhorns’ first-ever game between Sanford Stadium’s hedges. The Bulldogs own college football’s longest active home winning streak, which could reach 37 games by the time the Longhorns make their way to Athens on Nov. 15.

“Playing them in the regular season is going to be a really good game,” Hill said. “We know we have to play them at their house, so we're looking forward to that test. I know it's going to be a really tough game for us, but we're ready.”

Sarkisian's red-and-black tinted roadblock isn’t unprecedented. He's not the first Texas coach who had to slay a dragon while pursuing championship glory.

While an early-season road win over Ohio State established the Longhorns as bona fide title contenders in 2005, Brown had to wait until an October trip to Dallas for the Red River Shootout for a chance to get the monkey off his back. He shed it, snapping a five-game losing streak against Bob Stoops emphatically, with a 45-12 thrashing of Oklahoma, which fast-tracked Texas to the Rose Bowl and a date with destiny against USC.

The Longhorns are locked in on their Cotton Bowl rematch with the Buckeyes in Columbus, a chance to make a statement out of the gate in the season opener on Aug. 30.

Nevertheless, game No. 10 on the schedule will judge whether Texas is ready for the next step in its journey under Sarkisian or not.

For his part, Smart downplayed his budding rivalry with Sarkisian while tipping his cap, ever so slightly, to the Longhorns when he addressed Georgia’s recent success against Texas.

“Tremendous respect for him and his program, the job they do,” he said. “To beat good teams, you've got to be a good team. We had a good football team last year. So did they. It's not about us as coaches. It's really about the players and what you believe in.”

Hours later, Sarkisian departed the Peach State with two players coveted by Smart, who started the day by mentioning that the Bulldogs value “relationships over transactions” in recruiting. Texas isn’t going away, with Sarkisian running down a laundry list of everything the Longhorns have to offer before declaring Texas to be “an attractive school for players to want to come take a look at.”

Whether it’s in recruiting, the NFL draft or between the chalked lines, the newest rivalry in the fight for SEC supremacy is afoot.

***

ATLANTA — SEC Media Days wrap up at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta on Thursday. Three Texas opponents on the 2025 conference schedule are scheduled to make the rounds throughout the day: Arkansas, Kentucky and Texas A&M. 

***

ATLANTA — Texas has left the building, but OTF is still at the College Football Hall of Fame, ready for day No. 3 of SEC Media Days.

On the heels of a memorable Tuesday for Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns, Wednesday’s activity begins with Alabama and Mississippi State this morning, followed by Florida and Oklahoma in the afternoon. Kalen DeBoer kicks things off when he takes the podium at 8:05 a.m., with Jeff Lebby (9:50 a.m.), Billy Napier (noon) and Brent Venables (1:45 p.m.) rounding out the coaches' press conferences on the main stage.

***

ATLANTA — With Texas scheduled to make the rounds at SEC Media Days, Tuesday was going to be a big day. It became memorable when OTF 5-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson committed to the Longhorns a few hours before OTF 4-star++ defensive lineman James Johnson switched his commitment from Georgia to Texas.

OTF tracked the Texas contingent at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta and reacted to a massive afternoon on the recruiting trail. If you missed anything, we’ve got you covered with links to the OTF’s content produced throughout the day.

SEC Media Days live thread for Tuesday: https://ontexasfootball.com/news/articles/scoop/sec-media-days-live-thread-tuesday-r2144/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-163607

Michael Taaffe’s touching tribute to Texas flood victims: https://ontexasfootball.com/news/articles/scoop/watch-michael-taaffe-with-a-touching-tribute-at-sec-media-days-r2146/?do=getNewComment&d=1&id=2146

Which new Longhorns have stood out during the summer?:

Tuesday’s edition of Coffee & Football:

Watch With Us! Tyler Atkinson makes his decision:

BOOM! Tyler Atkinson commits to Texas:

BOOM! James Johnson commits to Texas:

DOUBLE BOOM! Analyzing a 5-star Tuesday for the Longhorns:

Sark’s media scrum:

Sark’s formal press conference:

Arch Manning’s media scrum:

Arch Manning’s press conference with electronic media outlets:

Media scrum with Anthony Hill Jr. and Michael Taaffe:

Anthony Hill Jr.’s press conference with electronic media outlets:

Michael Taaffe’s press conference with electronic media outlets:

Recapping the day’s events on Tuesday’s Longhorn Livestream:

***

ATLANTA — When SEC Media Days wraps up on Thursday, 48 players representing the conference’s 16 programs will have met the media at the College Football Hall of Fame.

The league’s coaches are bringing quarterbacks, wide receivers, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, linebackers and defensive backs with them. Unfortunately, the running back position won’t be represented over the four-day event, however, including Tuesday when Steve Sarkisian, quarterback Arch Manning, linebacker Anthony Hill and safety Michael Taaffe make up the Texas contingent in Atlanta.

Sarkisian’s 2025 roster is chock-full of blue chippers. The three media days representatives, along with Colin Simmons and Malik Muhammad, account for an FBS-leading five members of Pro Football Focus’ College 50.

Quintrevion Wisner didn’t travel with the Longhorns to Atlanta and he’s not getting a lot of love from national publications heading into the 2025 season. Still, the returning leading rusher in the SEC (1,064 rushing yards and 4.7 yards per attempt last season) has the respect of the defenders who’ve faced him.

“He’s a competitor and a great running back,” Vanderbilt’s Randon Fontenette said of Wisner, who rushed for 79 yards on 17 carries in a 27-24 road win over the Commodores last season. One of seven FBS running backs to finish the 2024 season with at least 200 rushing attempts (226) and 50 targets (57) according to PFF, Wisner caught five passes for 39 yards in the first five consecutive games Texas won en route to a berth in the SEC championship game.

Wisner was at his best once the Longhorns reached the SEC portion of the 2024 schedule. In the last 12 games of the season, Wisner rushed for 992 yards (4.8 yards per attempt) and four touchdowns, including two in a College Football Playoff first-round win over Clemson.

Whether that resonates with the media members in Atlanta enough to translate into preseason All-SEC votes will play out later in the week. Regardless, Wisner produced at a high level after carrying the football only 12 times as a true freshman in 2023, which commands respect.

Especially considering what Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said Monday regarding inexperienced running backs.

“It’s hard to grind out yards in the SEC,” he said.

At the very least, Wisner has earned the respect of Lea’s players because of what he did against them. Wisner helped Texas rebound from a loss to Georgia with a productive outing against the Commodores, a game in a string of them that went a long way toward cushioning the blow of losing Jonathon Brooks to the NFL and CJ Baxter to a preseason knee injury.

“Nothing but respect for him as a player,” Fontenette said. “He has that twitch. He has that change of direction. He’s really agile and that makes him dangerous.”

***

ATLANTA — No matter where his career as a college football coach has taken him, Brian Kelly’s track record of evaluating, recruiting and developing offensive linemen is second to none.

After overseeing Jason Kelce’s development from a walk-on linebacker to a likely Pro Football Hall of Fame center during his Cincinnati tenure, Kelly’s time as Notre Dame’s coach (2010-21) was a trench boon for the Fighting Irish. Kelly recruited and coached 11 Notre Dame offensive linemen who were eventually drafted, including five in the first round (Zack Martin in 2014, Ronnie Stanley in 2016, Mike McGlinchey and Quenton Nelson in 2018 and Joe Alt in 2024).

The trend has continued at LSU, which had four offensive linemen selected in the 2025 draft, including Will Campbell, the No. 4 overall pick. Knowing what the Tigers would be facing, Kelly and offensive line coach Brad Davis did their best to address the exodus before it happened.

“If you're trying to address graduation in a knee-jerk reaction and not having that planned in advance, you're probably going to take a hit on the offensive line this year,” Kelly said from inside the College Football Hall of Fame during SEC Media Days on Monday. “We have been grooming some players for their chance and their opportunity.”

Still, even though Kelly and Davis have done their best to develop LSU’s incoming talent, they went into the transfer portal to bolster a group tasked with protecting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.

Texas is in the same boat in its second season in the SEC. Outland Trophy winner Kelvin Banks, the Longhorn offensive lineman to go in the first round of the draft (No. 9 overall) since 2002, headlines the four starters who departed Kyle Flood’s room after a 13-win run to the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Nevertheless, while Kelly talked openly about the importance of player development while the Bayou Bengals go through a trench reboot, the offensive line under Flood and Steve Sarkisian is buoyed by it, with the Longhorns exclusively counting on homegrown talent to win line of scrimmage battles in the SEC. The five members of the projected starting offensive line (left tackle Trevor Goosby, left guard Neto Umeozulu, center Cole Hutson, right guard DJ Campbell and right tackle Brandon Baker) heading into the season were recruited by the current regime, the first time that’s been the case in Sarkisian’s tenure.

Texas kicked the tires on USC transfer Emmanuel Pregnon, who ultimately committed to Oregon. The decision to stick with in-house personnel for spring practice allowed Baker and Andre Cojoe to battle it out at right tackle, Nate Kibble to ascend the depth chart and Nick Brooks to emerge as a young tackle with a boatload of potential.

Although Sarkisian and Flood started building the Longhorn offensive line through high school recruiting a year before Kelly got to Baton Rouge, it speaks volumes of the staff successfully building the roster from the inside out that Texas is one of the favorites to win the SEC amid significant departures among the program's big humans. The Longhorns didn’t cut corners, and while Flood developed a pair of former Herb Hand recruits into draft picks (Christian Jones in 2024 and Hayden Conner in 2025), Banks and Cameron Williams (a 2025 sixth-round pick) emerged from the Sarkisian organization’s first full recruiting cycle (2022) as NFL players.

Considering how excited Kelly sounded when talking up the revamped LSU offensive line, Sarkisian should be equally as giddy about the outlook for Flood’s new-look group when Texas meets with the media on Tuesday.

“I'm bullish on our offensive line,” Kelly said. “I think we're going to be able to produce the kind of things necessary to be a championship team.”