Texas Football: Texas O-Line Will Be Younger, But Talented in 2020
Even for the most optimistic fan, it's hard to deny that the offensive line during Tom Herman's first year at Texas wasn't very good.
Players were forced to play out of position, rushed to the field before they were ready and a thin depth chart meant no room for rotation.
That year Texas rushed for just 3.6 yards per carry and allowed 31 sacks - the most during the Herman era. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger finished as the team's leading rusher with just 381 yards.
As the team started to mature upfront all of those numbers increased in 2018 and took another jump in 2019 with three fourth-year players (two seniors and one junior) starting on the o-line.
Of course, this is college football and having a senior-led group is a strength for one season and a problem for the next.
The Longhorns were already going to have to depend on some younger players to step up, but that problem got a little worse with news coming down that projected right tackle starter Denzel Okafor may be transferring.
While this certainly creates some uncertainty, it shouldn't create the kind of panic it did for the staff back in 2017. Since being hired in 2018 Texas offensive line coach Herb Hand has been not only stockpiling talent on the recruiting trail, but developing a group of players with diverse skills who can move from position to position. That creates several different scenarios going into 2020.
Many thought the original plan was for utility man Derek Kerstetter to move inside to center in 2020 to replace the graduating Shackelford, allowing fifth-year senior Okafor to step in at right guard. That would create a starting lineup of redshirt junior Samuel Cosmi at left tackle, redshirt sophomore Tyler Johnson at left guard, Kerstetter in the middle, redshirt sophomore Junior Angilau at right guard and redshirt senior Okafor at right tackle.
In that scenario, every starting Texas offensive lineman would be in at least his third year in the program.
Now Texas will likely have to turn to a younger player to fill one of the two openings.
In scenario one, Kerstetter moves to center as originally planned and redshirt sophomore Christian Jones steps up at right tackle. There's a chance this may have happened even if Okafor had returned.
In scenario two, Kerstetter stays at right tackle and redshirt sophomore Rafiti Ghirmai moves into a starting role at center. Ghirmai was the No. 56 player in the state of Texas according to 247Sports in 2017. He got some playing time last year as Shackelford's backup against Louisiana Tech, Rice and Utah.
We could also see Kerstetter move to center, Ghirmai go to right guard and Johnson go over to right tackle. Many believe Johnson is the future franchise left tackle once Cosmi leaves the program (which could be for the NFL Draft after 2020). This would give him an opportunity to play on the outside.
There are also a couple of Hand recruits we haven't heard much from but might take a big step forward when Texas is finally able to resume practice. Guys like sophomores Javonne Shepherd and Isaiah Hookfin, both four-star offensive tackle prospects who have been cross-training other positions as well.
The truth is whether Okafor leaves or stays, we can't really know what the Longhorns' starting five is going to look like on the o-line. While uncertainty makes some apprehensive, the number of options at Hand and the rest of the offensive staff's disposal at this point shows the progress the program has made in recruiting and developing those five positions.
