Former Heisman Winner Calls Out Texas Longhorns' Offensive Line

Without beating around the bush, the Texas Longhorns' offense has been a massive disappointment this season, with the unit consistently struggling to get going over the first five games. Many place the blame on quarterback Arch Manning, but there's a far larger problem at play.

The Longhorns' offensive line has not been good this season and was completely exposed in last week's loss to Florida, allowing six sacks against Manning and pressure on over half of his dropbacks. The line only allowed three sacks over the first four games, but a performance like that is simply inexcusable, especially for a unit with so much talent.

It's abundantly clear that the line needs to be better if this offense has any chance of getting back on track, and one former superstar called it out for everyone to see.

Tim Tebow Demands Better Protection for Arch Manning

Aug 30, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; SEC Network analyst Tim Tebow on the field before a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Syracuse Orange at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

On Friday's edition of "The Paul Finebaum Show," Tim Tebow, a former Heisman Trophy winner at Florida and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, called on the Longhorns to improve their blocking ahead of Saturday's Red River Rivalry game against Oklahoma.

“I think one of the things that we saw last week was a resilience and a toughness,” Tebow said. “He [Manning] got hit a bunch. If we’re gonna focus on something, I think the start should be the offensive line. They have to protect him. You have to be able to give him time. You have a defense line for Florida that, when healthy, can be pretty dang good. But they dominated that game.

“They totally took the game over, and I don’t put all of that on Arch. I put a lot of that on the offensive line, and he’s got to have time to get it down the field. So I was really impressed with his toughness. Obviously, there are some plays he’d want back. There was a post-route he had for a touchdown, but he also was taking shot after shot after shot and he did a great job of getting right back up.”

Manning showed commendable toughness by finishing the game against Florida, but he shouldn't have been in that position in the first place. Even the best quarterbacks need time to operate, and being constantly under pressure is no way for him to develop.

It's going to be tough to get back on track, especially with Oklahoma boasting one of the best defense in the entire country, but it's necessary if the Longhorns want to breakout of their tailspin.