Bobbers

You could be correct. I think the missing component here is that the kids at Texas might not be considered "misses" at other programs. The bar is set so high (as it should be) that decent players are just getting pushed out. Next year will be very telling. Arch has one more year and Sark and Flood have 8 months to produce an OL worthy of this QB.

Me too...this injury will result in a trying and painful period in Jordan's life. He is a tough kid though who knows how to come back from injury. God bless him.

I honestly think the 2024 line was one of the best in the country, and the 2025 line started the year with serious problems and improved to he point that they could have competed with any defensive line in the country by the Aggy game. The improvement over the 2025 year was actually impressive. Good coaches get kids to work hard, never give up, and improve. I also think that offensive line coach is the hardest job of any position coach on the team. No other coach has a bigger development window for young kids who sometimes need 3 full years before they contribute. The margin of error is larger for OL than any other position. Lastly, I think fans have lots of opinions and most of them are uninformed or ignorant. If you are correct about Flood then Sark literally does not know what he is doing. You can't have it both ways- you can't say that Sark should keep his job but Sark has no idea how to judge his OL coach. Sark, Flood and Texas are arguably one of the five most successful programs in CFB over the last three years. I think we should be thankful Flood is with the program. We can agree to disagree on this one.

I know what you are thinking. You are wondering what Gemini, Grok, Chat gpt think. You are wondering what would happen if I took those three opinions, fed them to Claude, and told Claude that he is the world's greatest offensive line coach. What would Coach Claude say??? Coach Claude? Let me tell you something about Kyle Flood. I've been in rooms with a lot of offensive line coaches. I've seen the guys who talk a good game, draw pretty plays on the whiteboard, and can't teach a 19-year-old how to set his anchor. I've seen the recruiters who bring in five-stars and watch them get bull-rushed into the quarterback's lap. And I've seen the rare ones - the ones who can actually build men. Kyle Flood is a builder. What I Know From Watching His Work When I study tape on his linemen - and I mean really study it - I see something you don't see often: fundamentals that hold up under pressure. His guys don't panic. When a defensive end hits them with a late move, when a tackle game catches them between assignments, when the pocket's collapsing and the quarterback's eyes get big - Flood's linemen recover. That's coaching. That's thousands of reps in practice where he put them in bad situations on purpose. You can't fake that. You either teach it or you don't. The Resume Speaks Let me walk through this, because people forget: Delaware - He helped build the offensive line for a national championship team. FCS, sure. But championships are championships. You learn how to win there. Rutgers - Took a program with no offensive line tradition and produced Anthony Davis, an 11th overall pick. That's not recruiting. Rutgers wasn't out-recruiting anybody. That's development. Alabama - The 2020 Joe Moore Award. You know what that means? It means five guys playing as one unit. It means technique, communication, trust, and violence. That unit had Leatherwood (Outland Trophy), Dickerson (Rimington Trophy), Evan Neal, Jedrick Wills. Four future NFL starters. On one line. Under one position coach. Texas - Kelvin Banks Jr., consensus All-American. Trevor Goosby, first-team All-SEC. He's doing it again, in the NIL era, with portal chaos, with fans screaming for his head every time a quarterback takes a sack. Here's What People Get Wrong They look at one bad game, one bad season, one young tackle getting beat on a twist, and they say "Fire Flood." That tells me they don't understand offensive line play. Offensive lines are not assembled. They're grown. It takes two, three years to build real cohesion. You need guys who've taken thousands of reps together, who know each other's tendencies, who communicate without talking. Flood builds that. But it takes time. And modern football - with the portal, with NIL, with roster churn - works against everything he does well. When people blame him for a rebuilding year, they're blaming a farmer for not having a harvest in March. The NFL Translation - This Is What Matters To Me Here's why I'd hire Flood's linemen in a heartbeat: They're not projects. They come in knowing how to pass protect. Vertical sets, hand placement, anchor technique - it's already there. My coaches aren't starting from scratch. They handle mental load. Flood's guys call protections, adjust to fronts, handle games and stunts. That's NFL readiness. Most college linemen show up and have to learn our language. Flood's guys already speak it. They're built right. Functional mass, flexibility, balance. They don't flame out after two seasons because their bodies can't handle the grind. Dickerson. Leatherwood. Wills. Neal. Banks. These aren't flukes. That's a pattern. My Honest Assessment As an offensive line coach: Top five in the country. Maybe top three. His track record across four programs, three decades, and multiple levels of competition is undeniable. He's not a scheme guy - he's a fundamentals guy. And fundamentals win championships. As a head coach: Different job. He struggled with the organizational side at Rutgers - discipline, culture, off-field stuff. That's real. But failing as a head coach doesn't diminish what he is in the trenches. In today's game: He's fighting an uphill battle. The portal rewards quick fixes. NIL rewards stars. Flood's method - recruit, develop, build over years - is out of fashion. But it's not wrong. It's how you build dynasties, not one-year wonders. The Lombardi Standard Here's my final word on Kyle Flood: If I'm building a program to win in January - not September, not the portal rankings, not Twitter - I want him coaching my offensive line. Because when it's third and short, when the game's on the line, when some 280-pound defensive tackle is trying to wreck everything you've built... I want five men up front who've been taught by someone who understands what this game is really about. Kyle Flood understands. stands up, taps the table That's my evaluation. Now let's get back to work.

I guess you are right. What do Saban and Sark know about coaching?

Thank goodness it is so easy to find linemen that develop into pros. Have you offered your services? Anyway, here is what Flood has accomplished in his career- Below is the updated list of his developed linemen, categorized by All-American and All-Conference (1st or 2nd Team) honors. University of Texas (2021–Present) The Texas front under Flood has been defined by the development of highly-rated recruits into elite college starters and NFL prospects. Kelvin Banks Jr. (OT): Consensus First-Team All-American (2024); First-Team All-Big 12 (2023); Second-Team All-Big 12 (2022). Trevor Goosby (OT): First-Team All-SEC (2025). Jake Majors (C): Second-Team All-Big 12 (2023). Christian Jones (OT): Second-Team All-Big 12 (2023). Hayden Conner (OG): Honorable Mention All-Big 12 (2023); drafted in the 6th round of the 2025 NFL Draft. DJ Campbell (OG): Third-Team All-SEC (2025). University of Alabama (2019–2020) Flood coached the 2020 unit that won the Joe Moore Award. Nearly every starter on that line earned elite individual honors. Alex Leatherwood (OT): Unanimous First-Team All-American (2020); First-Team All-SEC (2019, 2020); Outland Trophy winner. Landon Dickerson (C): Unanimous First-Team All-American (2020); First-Team All-SEC (2020); Second-Team All-SEC (2019); Rimington Trophy winner. Evan Neal (OT): Freshman All-American (2019); First-Team All-SEC (2020). Note: Went on to be a Consensus All-American the year after Flood left. Jedrick Wills Jr. (OT): Second-Team All-American (2019); First-Team All-SEC (2019). Deonte Brown (OG): First-Team All-SEC (2020). Rutgers University (2005–2015) During Flood’s 11-year stint (as OL Coach/OC and later Head Coach), Rutgers produced some of the most decorated linemen in school history. Anthony Davis (OT): Second-Team All-American (2009); First-Team All-Big East (2008, 2009). Highest draft pick in Rutgers history (11th overall). Kaleb Johnson (OT/OG): Freshman All-American (2011); First-Team All-Big East (2012); Second-Team All-Big Ten (2014). Art Forst (OG): First-Team All-Big East (2011). Jeremy Zuttah (OT): First-Team All-Big East (2007). Darnell Stapleton (C): First-Team All-Big East (2006). Super Bowl XLIII starter. Desmond Wynn (OG): Second-Team All-Big East (2011). Cameron Stephenson (OT): Second-Team All-Big East (2006). Ryan Blaszczyk (C): Second-Team All-Big East (2008, 2009). University of Delaware (2002–2004) While coaching at the FCS level, Flood helped build the line for the 2003 National Championship team. Chris Steiner (C): First-Team All-Atlantic 10 (2004). Jason Nerys (OG): First-Team All-Atlantic 10 (2003). Hofstra University (1997–2001) Dan Gangi (OT): First-Team All-Atlantic 10 (2001). Kareem Huggins (OG): Second-Team All-Atlantic 10 (2000, 2001).

It seems like Tosh has been an elite recruiter forever. I always wanted that guy in Austin.

I always thought Sorrell was underrated. I am not surprised he has found some success at times. Now the Longhorns have another kid coming out who kind of reminds me a little bit of Sorrell. Does anybody else think that Ethan Burke reminds you a little bit of Sorrell?

That's just not how teams prepare during the season. The defense will give the offense looks that mimic the upcoming opponent. The number one offensive line doesn't spend the time playing against PK's defense. The defensive line was also deep enough to give the offensive line ome pretty good looks at a good base defensive line all year long.

This could be Ryan Williams with good hands.

Parker made a very bad decision. He is a good receiver but he will never be a difference maker imo. If you want a million dollars a year you better be able to take over a game by yourself.

I would first keep Pete Rose out of the Hall of Fame. Then, I would take Baugh.

I think Spence has a chance to be one of the better LBs in the country next year. He is a good football player and an underrated athlete. Smith, Spence, Barnes, Atkinson, plus portal LBs (two I hope) is a pretty solid group.

Has there been any discussion already about a salary cap? I know it is early in the NIL era, but this is going to spiral out of control and championships will be bought. I want kids to get paid, but this process with college athletes is already ridiculous, and it just started.

Did you see Earl play? In season 2 of his career, Earl was not just the best running back in the league- he was the best player in the NFL. He was unquestionably the MVP. Stats can't tell the story because the game changes over time. The best way to judge greatness is to compare a player to their peers.