Texas Football: 4 overreactions from impressive win over TCU

Offensive line can adapt

It is a bit of an overreaction to consider that the offensive line will continue to adapt throughout the rest of the Big 12 slate. There are some good defenses in the Big 12 that Texas will still have to deal with this season. The likes of the Iowa State Cyclones, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Baylor Bears, West Virginia Mountaineers, etc. could all still pose tough tests.

All things considered, this week wasn’t all that bad for the Longhorns along the offensive line, though. Texas allowed two sacks, three quarterback hits, and just under a dozen total pressures on the day. And that all came while Texas had to deal with an injury that caused Denzel Okafor to leave the game, and Christian Jones was hobbling for most of the game.

Texas had to bring in redshirt freshman offensive tackle Andrej Karic to replace Okafor on the right side of the line. That was a tough spot for the talented, but undersized, Karic to come into. Karic has a lot of potential, but this was pretty early to toss him into the fire.

Of the 12 quarterback pressures on the day, nine were let up by Jones and Karic. The rest of the offensive line played well. But it might be time to consider a change for Jones if he keeps giving up these quarterback pressures in droves. Jones played well in the previous two games, but this was a major letdown for him.

We can still look at this game as a positive for the offensive line, though. They held up well in blocking for the run most of the game. And we saw more positive strides out of the trio of Jake Majors, Junior Angilau, and Derek Kerstetter.

There will be the issue now, though, of figuring out who can fill Okafor’s shoes. He’s out for the season after undergoing surgery.