Lam Dinh

We’re halfway through the college football season, and the biggest surprise in the SEC might just be the quarterbacks. Takeaways 1) Preseason All-SEC QBs have underwhelmed. The preseason All-SEC QBs were Garrett Nussmeier (1st Team), LaNorris Sellers (2nd Team), and DJ Lagway (3rd Team). None of them have hit double-digit passing touchdowns through the first half of the year. Their collective QB rating hovers around 135, which is below the SEC average for starting quarterbacks. 2) Jackson Arnold is still Jackson Arnold at Auburn (and OU still sucks). Jackson Arnold has been sacked 21 times—twice as many as Arch Manning (10 sacks), and that’s saying something given our own O-line’s struggles. The issue isn’t just protection; his slow processing has been obvious since his first snaps at OU. I never understood the hype. 3) Biggest Surprises: Ty Simpson and Joey Aguilar. Alabama’s Ty Simpson (16 TDs, 1 INT) and Tennessee’s Joey Aguilar (14 TDs, 5 INT) have been revelations. I didn’t have either name on my preseason Bingo card, but both deserve credit for steadying their programs after losing last year’s starters. Honorable Mention: Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss). Hook 'em!

@Gerry Hamilton - What's the football equivalent for what Shohei is doing? I might liken it to a QB throwing for 500 yards and also playing DE and getting 3 sacks/6 TFLs in a game? No offense to Travis Hunter, but WR/DB is no way near as hard as Starting Line pitcher and Top line hitter in baseball.

I completely agree on Jake Majors. He was a much bigger loss as a leader/communicator/blocker/player than most people gave him credit for.

If John Mills was our starting LG and Michael Fasusi was starting at RT, I think our line would then at least match the 3 NFL drafted linemen of 2024 (Banks, Williams, Conner). I'm not sure we have an NFL draft pick on the O-Line outside of Trevor Goosby (unless Nick Brooks develops much quicker).

I wrote this as a diehard Longhorn fan just trying to understand what’s really behind our offensive line struggles — not to pile on with lazy “we suck” takes. This isn’t about blame; it’s about figuring out why the line looks so different this year and what can actually be done to fix it. I’m not an expert — just a fan who wants to start an honest discussion so we can all better understand the root causes (and maybe sleep a little easier before the OU game). And if Big Tony Hills or @Jeff Howe are out there — the true Offensive Line experts over at OTF — I’d love to hear your takes. You guys know this stuff infinitely better than I do (hint hint: keep the great content coming 🙂). 1. Offensive Line Execution Last year, Texas’ offensive line was a strength — ranking roughly 28th nationally in pressure rate allowed (~25.5% of dropbacks). That group even earned Joe Moore Award semifinalist honors. This year? A complete collapse. Texas now ranks 128th in pressure rate allowed, giving up pressure on over 40% of dropbacks (CBS Sports / ESPN). That’s a 100-spot swing. We replaced four of five starters, and it shows: five false starts vs. Florida, blown pickups, and almost no consistent run push. Possible Fix: Left Guard (Stroh) and Center (Hutson) are the weakest links right now. I’d try either Hutson at LG (where he was serviceable in 2024) and Conner Robertson at C, or continue letting Nick Brooks develop at LG (with 2026 in mind) while giving Robertson a shot at Center (since he gets more push IMO). 2. Quarterback Time-to-Throw (and Scheme Design) In the Florida game, Arch averaged 3.5 seconds before releasing the ball — roughly a full second longer than Quinn Ewers’ 2.58s average last year (PFF / CBS). That extra second is everything. It’s the difference between a tackle maintaining leverage and giving up a sack. But it’s not purely on Arch. Sark has clearly emphasized more vertical routes and deeper progressions this year, which naturally extend the play clock. So it’s likely a mix: a scheme built for deep shots plus a quarterback hunting them too often. Possible Fix: Speed up the reads. Call more quick-game and one-read concepts. Mix in rollouts, including Arch's favorite roll right waggle play. Let Arch build rhythm before chasing chunk plays, just like Quinn did last year. 3. Recruiting & Depth Misses This problem started years ago. Texas has missed on nearly all the Top offensive lineman recruits after the 2022 class. Some examples: John Mills (now Washington’s starting left guard) and Michael Fasusi (now OU's starting LT). The result: thin depth, raw backups, and too much hope in youth. But it’s not just about who we missed — it’s about how we evaluate. As Gerry Hamilton pointed out on the defensive side of the ball, Byron Murphy was a 3-star, undersized recruit who became a first-round NFL pick. The current staff probably wouldn’t have recruited him based on measurables alone. That’s the lesson. Texas doesn’t need more so-called “Big Humans” — we need "TOUGH humans". Guys with a mean streak, an edge, a dog in them. Linemen who finish blocks, not just measure well in spring. Until Texas recruits to that identity relentlessly — we’ll keep ending up with size without bite. Possible Fix: There’s no real in-season fix for this one. Texas needs to hit the portal hard this winter for veteran linemen who can anchor the group right away, and rethink its high school recruiting philosophy — prioritizing tough humans, not just big humans. Hook 'em!

Biggest Disappointments on Offense and What to Change Now 1. The Offensive Line: We talked about the O-Line in pre-season as if we wouldn't miss a beat from having to replace 4 out of 5 starters from a Top 5 O-Line in the country. That was extremely naive in retrospect. This O-line could end up being very good in 2026 or 2027, but this 2025 iteration is simply not good enough. Change Needed: 1) Start Nick Brooks at LG going forward so we can at least prepare him for 2026. Stroh and Neto are already in year 4 and have had multiple chances, and they clearly do not meet the bar. 2) Start Conner Robertson or Daniel Cruz at Center. Cole Hutson is already in year 4 and he is who he is - a liability at Center and a serviceable backup at Guard. 2. The Offensive Skill Positions: We need more playmakers on the field, and should roll the dice with more talented young players rather than older more "reliable" players. Change Needed: 1) Stop playing Ryan Niblett (at WR, RB, or punt returner). He goes down too easily on first contact, has no wiggle/bounce, and has track speed but not football speed...enough already with his high snap counts. Replace him with Jonah Williams on PR, and give Daylon McCutcheon his snaps at WR. 2) James Simon and Jerrick Gibson need to play ahead of Christian Clark (and even take some load off of Tre Wisner). We need RBs who run violently, make one cut, and go upfield and lean on people for 3-4 yards. This is even more important because our OL doesn't maul people - so we need RBs who can do more of the mauling and give us an identity on the ground. Let's let the young bucks get more run.

I’ve been thinking the same thing. I think Robertson gets more push than Cole in short yardage, and I still think Stroh gets beat off the snap way too easily for guys who do not have elite BGO (i.e. Sam Houston, UTEP). I’m also wondering if maybe Conner Robertson and Neto at LG is an even better combo. I get that Hutson has been a vocal leader on the team, but he has usually graded out very poorly in PFF, even going back to when he started some games as a true freshman.

We’re gonna be fine but we also don’t have the red zone receivers with the same wiggle/separation as Bond and Golden last year. We got bigger bodies but they don’t get separation in close quarters.

Are Kobe Black and Graceson Littleton starting? They’ve been out there already.

Yes that is still in effect, but lots of smaller deals are likely to go through since most athletes will be getting less than 100k from NIL, which should not (in theory) raise as many flags.

It looks like CSS (governing body of NIL) just reversed course and will now allow NIL deals from booster-backed collectives — as long as they involve real activities like merch, autographs, or appearances. This fixes a major issue where valid deals were previously being blanket rejected (just because they were being facilitated by a collective), threatening the main way non-star athletes get paid. Now, schools like Texas with strong collectives can legally support more athletes, giving them a major NIL edge moving forward. Most athletes not named Arch Manning rely on collectives to source NIL opportunities. Only the superstars like Arch likely negotiate directly with big brands like Vuori, Red Bull, etc, and therefore don't necessarily need the help of a collective. This should open the door for the Texas One Fund (our collective) to flex its muscles to help us separate from the pack financially.

https://x.com/CFBKings/status/1945957863727268276

Sark not being phased by the Aggie War Hymn was most likely because he didn't even recognize what the Aggie War Hym was. Sark has spent most of his life in California and out of Texas, and that war hymn is not recognized by anyone outside of the state of Texas. Do I know the Michigan fight song? Yes (thank you EA sports). Do I know the Ohio State song, unfortunately that has been imprinted in my head after years of ESPN. The Oklahoma song, again, unfortunately yes its' beat is undeniable. The "Aggie War Hym"? I couldn't pick it out of a lineup, and obviously neither could Sark 🙂

Haha, I do have kids and now you got me thinking about how I can better allow my hate to grow and develop so that hate is not a zero sum game. This is why OTF is the greatest community 🙂

It doesn’t take artificial intelligence to come to the conclusion that A&M is not a real rival in anyone’s head other than theirs, haha.