Texas Football: Breaking down the 2018 depth chart

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AUSTIN, TX – SEPTEMBER 04: Armanti Foreman #3 of the Texas Longhorns celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown during the first quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 4, 2016 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

Center

Starter: Zach Shackelford, junior

Backup: Elijah Rodriguez, senior

The depth at center is starting to thin this year. Texas didn’t bring in any freshmen that can standout at center, and there’s no one committed in the 2019 recruiting class thus far either. The backup for the Horns at center is likely a starter elsewhere on the offensive line.

Texas does still have junior Zach Shackelford to anchor the middle of the offensive line for the next two seasons if he doesn’t leave the Forty Acres before then. For the past two years, Shackelford showed that he can be a nice staple in pass blocking. He’s also worked with Ehlinger and Buechele before, so the communication should be on point.

Ehlinger and Shackelford will continue to be one of the most important lines of communication on the offensive side of the ball this year. Another point of emphasis is that Shackelford has improved nicely over the past two seasons. If he keeps that up, this offensive line will be connected nicely in the middle.

There might not be a more significant player for the Horns to keep healthy this year than Shackelford. If Shackelford misses any game action this season, it would cause the entire offensive line to have to shift around. Senior Elijah Rodriguez would be able to fill in alright, but right guard would be switched around.

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