Texas Football: 3 x-factors for the Longhorns vs. Louisiana

Jake Majors, C

Now that the decision is in place for new offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Kyle Flood to give redshirt freshman center Jake Majors the start to anchor this line in Week 1, a lot of pressure will be on this underclassmen’s shoulders. Majors did play well when called upon last season, but he got less than 150 snaps in game action during his true freshman campaign.

Nonetheless, in nearly 150 snaps last season, Majors mostly played well in run blocking schemes and allowed four quarterback pressures. That’s not half-bad for an offensive linemen that is just getting some game experience under his belt.

But the pressure will now ratchet up on Majors as he will assume the spot that senior Derek Kerstetter played for most of last season. Majors will be the starting center that will be called upon to get a good push for the likes of star sophomore running back Bijan Robinson, junior Roschon Johnson, transfer Keilan Robinson, etc.

It will be key for Majors to get a good push off the line of scrimmage on the inside zone runs. Sark will utilize that play to get this offense off the ground. It should be a known fact at this point that Bijan is likely to be the spark plug for this offense out of the gates this weekend.

If Texas can get some rhythm going on offense thanks to the inside zone runs, that will open up the chance to beat Louisiana with some post and corner routes that Sark has become famous for. That is where Majors will have to go from getting a good push up the middle in run blocking to holding up the pocket for long enough for Card to get some good looks as passing plays develop early on.

Majors will be key to making this a smooth first career start for Card behind center.