Texas Football: 3 biggest positions of need for Longhorns in 2020

2. Offensive Guard

When the 2019 Texas football recruiting class landed one of the more highly touted groups of signees along the offensive line, the future in the trenches suddenly looked a lot brighter. A lot of those 2019 signees will be getting their first shot at winning starting roles this fall. The same goes for a fairly highly touted group of 2018 signees for the Longhorns.

Among those breakthrough offensive linemen to watch are to-be sophomore Junior Angilau, redshirt freshman Tyler Johnson, and junior Willie Tyler. Angilau was a consistent starter for the Longhorns last year, but his play was up and down throughout Big 12 play. He’ll need to be more consistent to inspire more confidence out of offensive line coach Herb Hand this fall.

Moreover, Texas is much deeper at center and the two tackle positions than they are at offensive guard. Hitting the transfer portal came with its positives and drawbacks for Texas over the course of the last two offseasons. Former Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets All-ACC guard Parker Braun was serviceable in his one year on the Forty Acres, but he was gone just as fast as he landed here.

Texas also lost to-be redshirt senior offensive guard JP Urquidez to the transfer portal last month. That means that the two most experienced offensive guards that the Longhorns had on the roster in 2019 are gone. The Longhorns need someone to step up here, whether it be redshirt senior Tope Imade or younger guys like Johnson and Angilau.