Texas Football: 3 OL’s who must step up to replace Samuel Cosmi

1) Texas football OL who must step up

The sizable 6-foot-4 and 320 pound experienced senior offensive guard Denzel Okafor might have the most pressure on his shoulders without Cosmi starting opposite of him in the trenches. The former four-star recruit and current starting offensive linemen Okafor could easily see his position get reshuffled next weekend against the Kansas State Wildcats (kicking off on the road on Dec. 5 in Manhattan).

Okafor was on the field for more than 600 snaps this season for the Longhorns, and has the same number that Cosmi did following the loss to Iowa State. The problem is that Okafor had more penalties called against him and is usually lower graded in pass and run blocking than Cosmi. Okafor has allowed four sacks, along with two additional quarterback hits and 16 quarterback pressures, so far this season.

All of the snaps that Okafor took so far this season came at the right guard position. But he does have more than 300 snaps for his college career to date at right tackle. The move back to that slot wouldn’t be too difficult for Okafor, and it might be more effective than starting either Johnson or Karic at the position.

Coming out of Lewisville High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Okafor ranked as the nation’s No. 277 2016 high school prospect, No. 12 offensive guard, and No. 43 prospect out of Texas (247Sports Composite). And the Top247 ranked him as the nation’s No. 243 high school prospect, No. 12 offensive guard, and No. 36 prospect out of Texas.