How Steve Sarkisian Will Continue to Readjust Texas Longhorns Offensive Line

Establishing a balanced and impenetrable offensive line has been a battle for the Texas Longhorns this season.

While the offensive unit illustrated a major progress jump in week 7 against the Oklahoma Sooners, they appeared to, once again, struggle in their most recent game against the Kentucky Wildcats.

With the line forgoing injury, the Longhorns have been forced to make adjustments even as they find rhythm. Through it all, head coach Steve Sarkisian remains hopeful that they will work out the kinks.

“I think them now having this whole week to work together will be helpful,” Sarkisian said in a press conference on Monday.

Need to be Prepared for Unexpected

Texas Longhorns running back Quintrevion Wisner (5) carries the ball during the third quarter against the Kentucky Wildcats. — Texas Longhorns running back Quintrevion Wisner (5) carries the ball during the third quarter against the Kentucky Wildcats, Oct. 18, 2025 at Kroger Field in Lexington, Kentucky. | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

“I think that, you know, we made a shift to going in the OU game to play Nick (Brooks) at left guard, and with the mindset of, ‘Man, he's going to feel really good between Trevor (Goosby) and Cole (Hutson).’”

However, Hutson, the Longhorns’ starting center, unexpectedly went out with an injury during the middle of last week. To which, Sarkisian admitted is less than ideal, thus making them shift their lineup for their matchup against Kentucky.

Regarding the offensive line’s shortcomings, Sarkisian added that when a team exposes their problem areas, their opponents will study and prepare to take advantage of those weaknesses — and the Wildcats proved to do so.

“I didn't think we responded very well to that against Kentucky, and credit to (them),” Sarkisian said. “They have some really good interior defensive linemen… (and) they moved more than, maybe, our guys were anticipating.”

He added, the Longhorns’ reactions to those movements weren’t perfect. So, from an offensive perspective, its their job to better prepare for their offensive line on how to best equip them for challenging aspects that aren’t included on the tape.

"As a staff, you have to have the real conversation of, ‘What do we do to help our players be successful?’” Sarkisian added. “It's not about what I know (or) what looks good on the whiteboard… it's what are our guys going to execute really well predicated on the defense that we're playing.”

By analyzing the offensive line’s strengths, Sarkisian said he wants to utilize it without divulging from the overall game plan.

“I do think you'll see some more adjustments this week to what we do,” Sarkisian said, “At the end of the day, we have to make sure we're playing complementary football with our defense."

The Longhorns will have a shot to readjust and better prepare as they head into week 9, where they take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday, Oct. 25.