Texas O-line talk

[Atticus 3920]

I think they’ve both been pretty horrible, I remember mentioning being disappointed in Conner earlier this season for playing poorly. 
 

I expected steady play, with no wow plays added in. He’s whiffing on blocks pretty often, but at least he’s staying upright more often than not.

[LTtxfan 48962]

[Burt Macklin 18996]

9 hours ago, Hookem2147 said:

Dunlap's OL grades and takeaways:

  Hide contents

Deep Dig OL Grading Scale (each snap by each player is graded as its own independent event)

OL Grades (Texas Tech)

LT Kelvin Banks - 60 snaps
1 run-stuff allowed
2 knockdowns
DEEP DIG GRADE: 78.38

LG Hayden Conner - 60 snaps
1 QB hit, 1 QB pressure allowed
DEEP DIG GRADE: 75.64

C Jake Majors - 60 snaps
1 QB pressure, 1 run-stuff allowed
DEEP DIG GRADE: 76.45

RG Cole Hutson - 60 snaps
3 run-stuffs, 1 QB hit, 1 QB pressure, 1 sack allowed
DEEP DIG GRADE: 73.55

RT Christian Jones - 60 snaps
1 pressure allowed
1 holding penalty
DEEP DIG GRADE: 77.58


OL Grades by Week (2022)

OL Snaps-per-Disruption Allowed (2022)

2022 OL Snaps-per-Disruption Allowed Versus Historical Precedent (Last 9 seasons)

Quick Hits and Thoughts

The worst performance of the Texas offensive line for the 2022 season was highlighted by a two key features we've witnessed all season and one we've only witnessed for the last two games:

The new and not-so-welcome phenomenon that reared its head again was Hayden Conner playing at a level that borders on poor. It's now been two-straight games at the time of this writing. We hope he is not battling a nagging injury of some sort, because he doesn't look like himself on the move and he's not finishing with the motor that basically characterized the style of play that we know him best for. He needs to play better, and it is our belief that he will based on his track record.

As for the usual factors: tackle play remained good-to-very-good between Kelvin Banks and Christian Jones. We discussed at length Jones' growth as a senior (and on the right side of the line as opposed to the left) last week in this very column. Furthermore, anyone who who's been paying any modicum of attention to the program over the course of fall camp and the last few weeks understands that freshman LT Kelvin Banks' rapid ascension to a starting role and his subsequent fine play has been a very uplifting storyline amid numerous other concerns (those concerns, unfortunately, now also include one 2021-esque pathetic loss from a head coach in Steve Sarkisian that most hoped had turned the page).

Also, per our usual arrangement, fellow freshman Cole Hutson was as disappointing or worse than Banks was good. They say an offensive line is only as strong as its weakest link, but in Hutson's case, that is thankfully not true. The offensive line unit seems to be able to operate at a collective level that is still fine despite Hutson playing unacceptably. Hutson seems like a nice guy and looks to have some talents that can be developed, but he is not ready. And some will say that Connor Williams and Pat Vahe weren't ready, either. Hell, maybe Banks wasn't necessarily ready. "What about guys like Zach Shackelford and Derek Kerstetter who started from Day 1 at Texas?" we can picture such charlatans asking. "They sure as hell weren't ready, right?"

And to that we'd say -- No, they probably weren't. But Hutson is less ready. Dear Lord, just look at the historical comparison chart above for snaps/disruption allowed. Now, that only takes into consideration allowed events of disruption (sacks, QB hits, QB pressures, TFLs, run-stuffs and penalties) and not actual player grades, which grade each play by each player over the course of the game to add more context -- but still -- Hutson's grades are really bad, too. What's more, it's seeming to get worse. We're not going to spend a column picking on the guy, as, for all we know, he's already been replaced in the lineup and our job here is not to throw stones, anyway -- only point out our findings.

But if he's not soon replaced, what can that tell us?

Well, it could tell us that Kyle Flood is a bad evaluator of OL talent and potential, which doesn't seem likely. It seems equally as unlikely that Steve Sarkisian is calling the offensive line shots and forcing Flood to play a guy who Flood doesn't think is fit for the job. If any coach on the team has autonomy over his position group and snap-rates, based on all we've seen and the backgrounds of the given members of the staff, it's Flood.

The most likely scenario is not one that fans will love hearing: that Flood truly thinks -- even given the struggles he's 100% seen just as clearly as we ALL have from Hutson -- that Hutson is still his best option to round out his top five guys. Obviously, this is disappointing when thinking about the five OTHER talented freshman offensive linemen that Texas was able to snag in the 2022 offensive line class that was dubbed "historic" at the time. There was a tell whenever Hutson left the game for one snap versus UTSA: that it was not freshman superstar-recruit DJ Campbell who came into the game in reserve-duty, it was backup center Logan Parr.

And maybe DJ Campbell isn't ready yet. But, as we've been trying to communicate all through the column, none of these guys are ever really "ready."

Ever tried picking the optimal day to quit a bad habit like smoking or dipping? Deciding the perfect time to get married? Predicting when exactly to buy into the stock market? When to have kids? Of course you have. We all have. Most of the time these decisions are made via circumstance alone, though, and life goes on. Because if we sat around playing with our pud from dawn until dusk and fretting over what could go wrong here and why this might not work there, we'd simply be stuck. We'd be paralyzed.

We've said it and said it: Texas is currently taking its lumps with a true-freshman right guard. That is happening, and it will continue. As long as these lumps are being taken, why are other avenues not at least being explored?

 

 

9 hours ago, Hookem2147 said:

TLDR: We have 4 OL playing at passable/decent levels and then Hutson.

I think I’ve pinpointed what’s wrong with Dunlap’s OL grades because they’ve seemed off for a while. He focuses too much on guys giving up negative plays/disruptions and not enough on how well they execute their assignments. 
 

Guys like Conner and Majors get absolutely no push in the run game and his grades don’t seem to reflect that enough. We have not had 4 OL playing at a decent level this year, despite his grades routinely coming out that way. 

 

4 hours ago, Codaxx said:

I do not buy that either. Conner was pretty solid in the first 2 games and has not looked good the last 2. Huston has struggled in every game. I trust Dunlap more on the OL stats, than PFF. 

I have no idea what you’re talking about, but Conner has sucked shot through a straw at run blocking every game this year. He was terrible run blocking against ULM, especially considering the competition.  I think PFF’s grades are more accurate on Conner and Majors than Dunlap’s. He routinely grades those two out at good to very good, which is just flat out wrong. 

[Funk Doctor Spock 11920]

On 9/28/2022 at 12:20 AM, futureman said:

maybe campbell is tray allen?

Fuck. God I hope not. No way he can be. Surely evaluators have gotten better, right?

On 9/28/2022 at 7:38 AM, Nope said:

Early enrollee

Yeah., but damn. He's beyond a liability at this point. He can't do anything right it seems. 

[Funk Doctor Spock 11920]

On 9/28/2022 at 8:36 AM, WinningIsHard said:

There’s nobody like Ricky or Earl, period. Lol 

Let me hold onto to my dream of Bijan hoisting that trophy this season, ok?

[pacman 7324]

Call me crazy but Hutson might have had a competent day yesterday, definitely his best day of the year. I was worried about the 3 interior OL against that WVU NT.

On the flip side, it looked like Banks had his roughest game. He is young, so inconsistency is expected.

[LTtxfan 48962]

 

[Hookem2147 20927]

23 hours ago, pacman said:

Call me crazy but Hutson might have had a competent day yesterday, definitely his best day of the year. I was worried about the 3 interior OL against that WVU NT.

On the flip side, it looked like Banks had his roughest game. He is young, so inconsistency is expected.

Majors held up surprisingly well on the inside as well.

Banks missed the stunt early and gave up the sack, but I didn't see anything too bad after that.

[satyanash 14281]

Reminder that Bijan and Rojo are making this line look much better than it is.

 

[Hook'Em0608 96]

25 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Reminder that Bijan and Rojo are making this line look much better than it is.

 

It’s a talented but young offensive line. They need the weight room to start moving those big bodies on run downs 

[Duane Moore 5236]

30 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Reminder that Bijan and Rojo are making this line look much better than it is.

 

Is that cumulative for the season? Or the last week’s game? It seemed like we were getting a better push this week when we ran, and the YPC was not skewed by a couple long runs. 

[satyanash 14281]

16 hours ago, Duane Moore said:

Is that cumulative for the season? Or the last week’s game? It seemed like we were getting a better push this week when we ran, and the YPC was not skewed by a couple long runs. 

It's cumulative.

 

[LTtxfan 48962]

Texas has to establish the run this Saturday...

 

[Chad 1728]

Christian Jones has come a long way, he's showed a lot of improvement this season. I wouldn't necessarily identify a weak link, but more so "weak links" on the OL. Conner and Hutson have been equally bad on the interior. I have no doubt in my mind that a seasoned Angilau would've been better than either of them and would've demonstrated the same growth as Jones. It'll be interesting to see who starts at G next season. I fully expect Campbell to get it next season if he somehow doesn't steal away a starting job later this season.

[Atticus 3920]

Hutson was pretty bad in the WVU game. I basically watched every offensive snap, focused on him, and found that he either got beat fairly quickly after the snap or didn't do much other than a few assists when run blocking. His pass pro is better, but still below average.

The worst part about him is that he seems to know where to go, but he just doesn't seem to possess the physical ability or athleticism to be effective right now.

[HtownHorn 14468]

5 minutes ago, Atticus said:

Hutson was pretty bad in the WVU game. I basically watched every offensive snap, focused on him, and found that he either got beat fairly quickly after the snap or didn't do much other than a few assists when run blocking. His pass pro is better, but still below average.

The worst part about him is that he seems to know where to go, but he just doesn't seem to possess the physical ability or athleticism to be effective right now.

Stills was beating everyone in front of him. Asking Karic and Helm to solo block him was recipe for disaster. I don't think OU has a Stills on their DL.

Hutson and Conner are this year's Jones. Patience is needed.

Edited October 5, 2022 by HtownHorn

[gmr548 16491]

Hutson was pretty bad in the WVU game. I basically watched every offensive snap, focused on him, and found that he either got beat fairly quickly after the snap or didn't do much other than a few assists when run blocking. His pass pro is better, but still below average.
The worst part about him is that he seems to know where to go, but he just doesn't seem to possess the physical ability or athleticism to be effective right now.

Absolutely this, really stood out to me for the first time back at the UTSA game. He doesn’t look lost. He isn’t getting schooled by simple stunts. He just looks like he doesn’t physically belong on the field in a P5 conference.

A lot of true freshmen don’t, so I’m not writing him off forever. But he’s a liability right now.

[LTtxfan 48962]

4 hours ago, HtownHorn said:

Stills was beating everyone in front of him. Asking Karic and Helm to solo block him was recipe for disaster. I don't think OU has a Stills on their DL.

Hutson and Conner are this year's Jones. Patience is needed.

 

12 minutes ago, gmr548 said:

Absolutely this, really stood out to me for the first time back at the UTSA game. He doesn’t look lost. He isn’t getting schooled by simple stunts. He just looks like he doesn’t physically belong on the field in a P5 conference.

A lot of true freshmen don’t, so I’m not writing him off forever. But he’s a liability right now.

 

Reading these two posts just reminds me how tough the interior Dline of baylor will be for Texas to block...  

 

[Hookem2147 20927]

Dunlap's OL grades (highest graded game for the unit this year)

Spoiler

Deep Dig OL Grading Scale (each snap by each player is graded as its own independent event)

OL Grades (WVU)

LT Kelvin Banks - 57 snaps
1 sack allowed
1 knockdown
DEEP DIG GRADE: 78.86

LG Hayden Conner - 57 snaps
1 holding penalty
DEEP DIG GRADE: 78.33

C Jake Majors - 57 snaps
1 run-stuff allowed
1 bad snap
DEEP DIG GRADE: 77.11

RG Cole Hutson - 57 snaps
1 run-stuff, 1 QB hit, 1 QB pressure allowed
DEEP DIG GRADE: 76.4

RT Christian Jones - 57 snaps
2 QB pressures allowed
DEEP DIG GRADE: 77.63


OL Grades by Week (2022)

OL Snaps-per-Disruption Allowed (2022)

2022 OL Snaps-per-Disruption Allowed Versus Historical Precedent (Last 9 seasons)

Quick Hits and Thoughts

Thank Goodness this will be a quick one, as the OU game weighs heavily on the minds of all in our dark basement. But we can't turn the page on West Virginia without putting a pin in this moment and declaring that this is how you win.

If you look at the game-by-game OL grades, you'll see that last Saturday's contest was the highest-cumulatively graded contest of the season for the Texas offensive line. It was due to a number of factors: Kelvin Banks continuing to play like a guy who we'll only have at Texas for 2 more seasons after this one; Christian Jones continuing to look like a player who belongs at least on the periphery of the 2023 NFL Draft radar; Hayden Conner returning to form after a two-game, early-season swoon and Jake Majors and Cole Hutson both playing above their baseline to turn in perfectly suitable performances.

Even in a game where Bijan Robinson didn't bust a few of his legendary house-calls to buttress his YPC average, it was obvious that the offensive game plan continued to churn and grind as called throughout the course of the game, staying on schedule looking anything but dysfunctional. This is what happens when the offensive line grades out this way. Good things happen. Xavier Worthy gets back involved and looking like himself. JT Sanders jumps back into the spotlight. The game is never in doubt.

It was not only the best overall average game-grade for an offensive line in 2022, it was the best of the Steve Sarkisian/Kyle Flood era in Austin. When your weakest link (Cole Hutson in this case) turns in an above-average performance, it really does take a lot going very, very wrong for any play-caller to screw that sort of synergy up with his game plan. A total cheat code.

We suspected that Kyle Flood would turn to more of a man and power-heavy approach to the team's run-blocking in response to its struggles running outside-zone in recent weeks, namely due to Cole Hutson and Jake Majors both allowing far too much upfield penetration through their playside shoulders on such concepts. This disrupted cutback lanes and blew up plays before the blocking was ever set up in many cases. The remedy was to go to more of a pin-and-pull-type of concept when attempting outside-zone running paths where – in a nutshell – the uncovered player (let's say it would be Christian Jones on a play going to the right who would be "uncovered," meaning no man was head-up on him) would crack down on the defender covering the guard while the guard pulled around him to the outside to look for defenders to engage in free space. This is, of course, as opposed to making that same guard cross the face of that 3-technique at an outside-zone angle in an effort to move the DT off his spot, which left Hutson particularly so vulnerable to allowing that damaging upfield penetration.

It was an easy fix to see and we expect to see more of it versus Oklahoma, even if the Oklahoma defensive front isn't one of the more massive ones in 2022 that we've seen in recent years. Nose tackles Jeffrey Johnson and Isaiah Coe are listed right at 305 pounds while defensive tackles Jordan Kelly and Jalen Redmon are right at 290 apiece per the OU team website. Texas offensive linemen face guys 50 pounds heavier on the regular in practice each day during team drills.

Still, it's the Red River Shootout and as that name would suggest, things can get real Western real fast in the Cotton Bowl. It's where game plans that looked so good on paper have so many times gone to die. There are no gimmes, and certainly nothing can be taken for granted in a rivalry and contest of this magnitude. With this understanding, the Texas OL has something going right now, and it would be a shame to get away from what has looked like the most successful game from a pure blocking perspective of the current regime's era on the 40. If (big if) they are actually hitting their stride, it would certainly be the perfect time to do so.

Onward to Oklahoma.

 

[TexMexBuddha 987]

SIAP

[LTtxfan 48962]

 

[LTtxfan 48962]

 

[Codaxx 5592]

7 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

 

He should be higher. HE might be the most "influential" starting OL on the team. 

[gmr548 16491]

I suppose you could describe Hutson's performance as "impactful." For the other team, maybe, in the usual sense of the word; but not inaccurate.

I haven't watch much of any of the guys above Banks, but his presence has transformed the offense. He's going to challenge for all conference as a freshman. I'm skeptical of him not being at the top of this list. How many of those guys transformed their units?

[LTtxfan 48962]

 

6 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

 

 

ESPN:  Ranking college football's top 25 true freshmen through Week 5

8. Kelvin Banks Jr., OL

Texas | 2022 ESPN 300 ranking: 33

The No. 4 offensive tackle in 2022, Banks has stepped in and has made his presence felt immediately, allowing just one sack this season. It's no shocker Banks, a 6-5, 318-pound left tackle, has found himself in the starting lineup given Texas was so poor in the offensive line a year ago.

9. Cole Hutson, OL

Texas | 2022 ESPN 300 ranking: unranked (four stars)

A former four-star prospect, Hutson has stepped in to help plug holes along this Texas offensive line and has been doing an admirable job. As mentioned with Banks above, Hutson was expected to be in this position. He can also play multiple positions for this group as they continue to grow. The 6-5, 303-pound right guard has yet to surrender a sack this year.

 

Entire paywalled ESPN article in link below thanks to @Blotto in link below

 

 

Edited October 7, 2022 by LTtxfan
Links may be messed up due to Surly issues

[Codaxx 5592]

12 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

 

 

ESPN:  Ranking college football's top 25 true freshmen through Week 5

8. Kelvin Banks Jr., OL

Texas | 2022 ESPN 300 ranking: 33

The No. 4 offensive tackle in 2022, Banks has stepped in and has made his presence felt immediately, allowing just one sack this season. It's no shocker Banks, a 6-5, 318-pound left tackle, has found himself in the starting lineup given Texas was so poor in the offensive line a year ago.

9. Cole Hutson, OL

Texas | 2022 ESPN 300 ranking: unranked (four stars)

A former four-star prospect, Hutson has stepped in to help plug holes along this Texas offensive line and has been doing an admirable job. As mentioned with Banks above, Hutson was expected to be in this position. He can also play multiple positions for this group as they continue to grow. The 6-5, 303-pound right guard has yet to surrender a sack this year.

 

Entire paywalled ESPN article in link below thanks to @Blotto in link below

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That is so bad. They have the Ole Miss RB, who is in a 60/40 split with Evans higher. For a freshmen LT to be playing well is very rare

 

[Coach pop a bitch 5459]

Kelvin banks!!!

Enough said 

[LTtxfan 48962]

There you go Junior !!!  🤘

 

[Coach pop a bitch 5459]

 

[Coach pop a bitch 5459]

 

[Elmer_Fudd 22103]

15 hours ago, Coach pop a bitch said:

Kelvin banks!!!

Enough said 

Anybody have the clip or gif where he drove that guy and got in his face afterwards?

[Nope 3111]

15 minutes ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

Anybody have the clip or gif where he drove that guy and got in his face afterwards?

 

[gmr548 16491]

Kelvin banks!!!
Enough said 

He was there to fuck people up and I’m here for that.

[Reynolds Woodcock 4659]

I’ll admit that when Hutson got bulldozed on the first drive yesterday, battered fan syndrome kicked in hard. Just a speed bump on a great day.

[Coach pop a bitch 5459]

Late in the game there was 4 freshmen playing on the line.  The future is bright

[pacman 7324]

3 hours ago, Coach pop a bitch said:

Late in the game there was 4 freshmen playing on the line.  The future is bright

All 5 at one point, about 3 plays or so, according to Burton and he said Neto looked fantastic 

 From left to right: Neto Umeozulu, Malik Agbo, Connor Robertson, DJ Campbell and Cam Williams.

 

Not sure if it is the same play discussed above. Banks nearly folded the OU LB in half on that 3rd and 1 at the start of the second half.

Edited October 9, 2022 by pacman

[HtownHorn 14468]

18 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

There you go Junior !!!  🤘

You know it's got to be killing Angilau to have to sit this season out, seeing how good this offense is becoming. Could really see him coming back for his super SR. season.

[FOXHOUND 1014]

Was that Banks who pushed that OU DB all the way into the endzone on our first TD drive? When I saw that I knew it was going to be a long day for the Dirt Burglars, they just got pushed around the whole game. 

[LTtxfan 48962]

 

[South Austin 52129]

Still can’t believe how well Banks is playing for us as a true freshman. 

[tbone_ 14020]

 

I thought the same thing when I saw that play. Finally, some nasty from an OL.

[Jkwellborn 6653]

I thought the same thing when I saw that play. Finally, some nasty from an OL.

Exactly. Texas has been missing that for years. But even the upperclassmen are getting that edge.

[conVINCEd 21468]

Just now, Jkwellborn said:

Exactly. Texas has been missing that for years. But even the upperclassmen are getting that edge.

Every team needs a Kasey Studdard type on the line.  I’m glad our highest ranked OL recruit in years, who is balling out as a true freshman, has decided to be that guy.

[Nope 3111]

Different angle

 

[bluto 4883]

This is the kinda nasty if he gets to pull. 
https://twitter.com/wearebigguys/status/1465818537612750850?s=46&t=zw5T9BIPbUWREnlNvPujQQ

[BrickTop 474]

Just read Banks scouting report, sounds a bit destructive, one of the few times a player blows past his hype, has allowed 1 sack all year. https://247sports.com/Article/Texas-football-offensive-tackle-Kelvin-Banks-247Sports-True-Freshman-of-the-Week-195110445/Amp/

[LTtxfan 48962]

 

[futureman 22414]

On 10/10/2022 at 6:10 PM, bluto said:

This is the kinda nasty if he gets to pull. 
https://twitter.com/wearebigguys/status/1465818537612750850?s=46&t=zw5T9BIPbUWREnlNvPujQQ

is that kid dead?

[Codaxx 5592]

On 10/10/2022 at 6:18 PM, BrickTop said:

Just read Banks scouting report, sounds a bit destructive, one of the few times a player blows past his hype, has allowed 1 sack all year. https://247sports.com/Article/Texas-football-offensive-tackle-Kelvin-Banks-247Sports-True-Freshman-of-the-Week-195110445/Amp/

and that was a missed assignment. He has faced guys like Will Anderson (5 sacks), Dallas Turner (2 sacks), Tyree Wilson (6 sacks) and I have not seen him beat for a sack 

[Hookem2147 20927]

Dunlap's OL breakdown (tldr; Jones and Banks played their best games of the season)

Spoiler

Deep Dig OL Grading Scale (each snap by each player is graded as its own independent event)

OL Grades (OU)

LT Kelvin Banks - 72 snaps
1 run-stuff, 1 TFL allowed
2 knockdowns
DEEP DIG GRADE: 80.69

LG Hayden Conner - 72 snaps
1 pressure allowed
1 knockdown
DEEP DIG GRADE: 78.47

C Jake Majors - 72 snaps
3 run-stuffs allowed
2 false-start penalties
1 knockdown
DEEP DIG GRADE: 76.81

RG Cole Hutson - 72 snaps
1 run-stuff, 1 pressure allowed
DEEP DIG GRADE: 76.25

RT Christian Jones - 72 snaps
1 pressure allowed
3 knockdowns, 1 pin
DEEP DIG GRADE: 80.83

RESERVES

LT Neto Umeozulu - 10 snaps
No disruption allowed
DEEP DIG GRADE: N/A

LG Logan Parr - 7 snaps
1 TFL allowed
DEEP DIG GRADE: N/A

LG Malik Agbo - 3 snaps
1 TFL allowed
DEEP DIG GRADE: N/A

C Conner Robertson - 10 snaps
1 TFL allowed
DEEP DIG GRADE: N/A

RG DJ Campbell - 10 snaps
No disruption allowed
1 knockdown
DEEP DIG GRADE: N/A

RT Cam Williams - 10 snaps
No disruption allowed
DEEP DIG GRADE: N/A

OL Grades by Week (2022) - Individual player grades across the season are color coded from RED (WORST) to WHITE (MEDIAN) to BLUE (BEST)

OL Snaps-per-Disruption Allowed (2022)

2022 OL Snaps-per-Disruption Allowed Versus Historical Precedent (Last 9 seasons)

Quick Hits and Thoughts

The Texas offensive line has stacked up two great games since the Texas Tech debacle. In fact, they have been the best two games of the Steve Sarkisian era from a blocking-perspective. As we can tell on the newly color-coded "OL Grades by Week" table above, Kelvin Banks and Christian Jones both had their best games of the season while Cole Hutson played at a very acceptable new baseline he established in the WVU game. That's your two best players and your weakest link all operating above expectation, which will always lead to good things for the offense. If we can assume the offensive line as a whole can continue playing at this cumulative level, the offense in general will not be the reason for any upcoming loss barring unforeseen in-game idiocy from the offensive coaching staff.

It's been two good games, so we can't exactly say we're living though the good old days just yet. Texas has seen stretches of really good blocking like this before in recent history, even if your memory is so scarred by the overwhelming majority of crap you've witnessed that it fails to recall such instances easily.

In 2020, Texas had a two-game stretch of games where the average Deep Dig score of all 5 starting offensive linemen was above 78 in the West Virginia and ISU games, but those games were heavily influenced by out-sized scores of nearly 82 apiece from outgoing OT stud Sam Cosmi. The 2019 start with Louisiana Tech, LSU and Rice (again, buttressed by Cosmi's high scores) had averages of 80.54, 78.18 and 79.14 respectively. In 2017, the season also got off to a hot two-game start from an offensive line perspective, then Connor Williams got hurt. Still, the first two games (Maryland and San Jose State) had Deep Dig averages of 77.1 and 80.1 respectively. (Connor Williams played his highest-graded game as a Texas Longhorn versus SJSU that year before leaving with an injury - a monster 84.56).

There are two main differences we see with how the OL is operating now and how they were operating in achieving these mini-stretches of success in the past, though: First, there is not an upperclassmen stud among the group who came into the season having legitimate NFL aspirations serving as the obvious bellcow and clubhouse leader. This was the case in 2019 and 2020 with Cosmi and 2017 with Williams, where the line's average grades were brought up a good bit due to those players' high scores but the median grades, as a measure of central tendency, showed a less stout surrounding cast. Christian Jones may be thought of as an NFL talent at this point, but he sure wasn't on many radars coming into the season. Everyone knows NOW that Kelvin Banks is a stud, but he was just another freshman chalk-full of potential heading into fall camp.

And man, we've seen a lot of OL talent and "potential" squandered in recent years at Texas. Anyone could be excused for not getting their hopes up about a guy the recruiting services swooned over. It hasn't exactly been predictive of big things at Texas in the recent past.

The only comparable stretch in the history of the Deep Dig where we look at the cumulative scoring by median (meaning, one big contribution can't mask sub-par scoring as easily) was the one to start the 2019 season. Texas in those games put up 45 points (defeating Louisiana Tech with a ridiculous 80.29 median score among starting OLs), 38 points (losing to eventual national champion LSU by just a TD with a 77.85 median score among starting OLs) and 48 points (defeating Rice with a 78.76 median score among starting OLs).

Considering that the 2019 LSU team is argued over as one of the best college football teams of all time, that three-game stretch doesn't seem as easy as the La Tech and Rice games would lead you to believe it was. But regardless of competition level, it was and is the only comparable stretch of consecutive games that compare to the median scoring over the last two for Texas (78.47 and 77.63 respectively). This finding is reflective of the fact that Texas is getting better play across the board. It's not one guy and his talent lifting all boats. For this reason, the trend feels more sustainable in a way it couldn't have been in the past.

People say you don't realize the good old days until they're gone. You get married, you have kids, it's a whirlwind to get them to school on time and keep the bills paid but you make it happen and next thing you know the house is empty. All of the sudden you realize the time that has just passed -- those were the good old days. You just didn't realize it because life was happening.

Sometimes you have to remind yourself you are actually living in the good old days. With the Texas offensive line, we aren't there yet. We've seen little stretches like this before. But there are signs pointing toward where this thing could possibly be headed if things stay on track. And if these things come to fruition, the coming days will be the good ones.